Armenian contribution to the world: inventions and discoveries

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Ivan Knunyants - chief designer of molding of Soviet hydrogen bomb and one of major developers of Soviet chemical weapons

Ivan Knunyants, an outstanding Armenian organic chemist, the founder of the chemistry of organofluorine compounds.

Ivan Knunyants was the Chief designer of Soviet hydrogen bomb molding. Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Creator of the so-called "Elixir of the Knunyants". He created his world-famous scientific school of fluororganics - the Knunyants school. He proposed new methods for introducing various radicals into the pyridine nucleus: he discovered a method for producing g-acetopropyl alcohol by reaction of aceto-acetic ether with ethylene oxide. To Knunyants belongs the first publication on the polymerization of caprolactam into a linear polymer. Knunyants was one of the pioneers of the synthesis of poly-caprolactam (capron, nylon-6, polyamide-6), founder of Soviet school of fluorocarbon's chemistry, one of major developers of Soviet chemical weapons program, also an author of a few drugs for chemotherapy of cancer.

Academician Knunyants is the author of 1000 printed scientific works, more than 200 inventions and patents.

Awards
Hero of Socialist Labor
Lenin Prize
Three Stalin Prizes

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Larry Gagosian, world’s most powerful art dealer

Lawrence Gilbert "Larry" Gagosian is an Armenian American art dealer and mogul who created and owns the Gagosian Gallery chain of art galleries.

Larry Gagosian is the man behind the world-famous Gagosian Galleries, a network of showrooms in art capitals around the world. He is known as the top art dealer in the world, managing dozens of renowned contemporary artists. The annual revenue of his worldwide galleries hovers around $1 billion.

Gagosian Gallery is a contemporary art gallery owned and directed by Larry Gagosian. The gallery exhibits some of the most influential artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. There are 16 gallery spaces: five in New York; three in London; two in Paris; one each in Basel, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Rome, Athens, Geneva and Hong Kong.

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Daron Acemoglu, most cited economist of last decade in the world

Daron Acemoglu, American economist of Armenian origin best known for his work on political economy.

Acemoglu has authored hundreds of papers. He authored (with James Robinson) "Why Nations Fail" (2012). The latter, an influential book on the role that institutions play in shaping nations' economic outcomes, prompted wide scholarly and media commentary.

Acemoglu ranked third in the list of "Favorite Living Economists" in a 2011 survey among American economists.

Awards
John Bates Clark Medal by the American Economic Association
John von Neumann Award by Rajk Laszlo College for Advanced Studies
Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize in Economics by Northwestern University "for fundamental contributions to the understanding of political institutions, technical change and economic growth"
BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award "for proving the influence of institutions over economic development"
Jean-Jacques Laffont Prize, Toulouse School of Economics
Global Economy Prize, Kiel Institute for the World Economy
Carnegie Fellow

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Rose and Sarkis Colombosian, in 1929, they founded the first production of yogurt in the USA using Armenian "madzoon" cultures

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Emil Artin, founder of modern algebra, one of the leading mathematicians of the twentieth century

Emil Artin (Artinyan) was an Austrian mathematician of Armenian descent, founder of modern algebra. Artin was one of the leading mathematicians of the twentieth century.

Emil Artin is best known for his work on algebraic number theory, contributing largely to class field theory and a new construction of L-functions. He also contributed to the pure theories of rings, groups and fields.

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Emik Avakian, outstanding contributor helping disabled people despite his own severe case of cerebral palsy

Emik Avakian, despite his own disease, a severe case of cerebral palsy, he patented 57 inventions which help disabled persons until today. In 1961, US President Kennedy honored him for the "Most outstanding contribution to the employment of Handicapped".

Emik Avakian was an Armenian American inventor and owner of numerous patents including breath-operated computer, a mechanism that facilitates putting wheelchairs on automobiles, and a self operating robotic wheel that converts manual wheel chairs into automatic. Many of his inventions were geared towards the improvement of disabled people's lives, and he won many awards recognizing these efforts.

Avakian was born with a severe case of cerebral palsy, but this did not affect his cognitive abilities.

Awards
In 1961, President of the United States John F. Kennedy honored Avakian for his outstanding contributions to handicap employment.
Eminent Engineer Award
Armenian Bicentennial Committee's "Excellence in the Field of Science Award"
Shah of Iran Crown Medal
Honorary Doctorate Award of Eureka College
In addition to his awards, Avakian was featured in renowned and local publications, including Life magazine and Mechanix Illustrated in 1952, 1953, and 1962.

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Agop Dilacar (Hagop Martayan), founder of the modern Turkish language

Agop Dilacar (Hagop Martayan) was an Armenian linguist, the first Secretary General and head specialist of the Turkish Language Association. He was proficient in 22 languages, and in addition to Armenian and Turkish, he knew English, Greek, Spanish, Azerbaijani, Latin, German, Russian and Bulgarian.

Kemal Ataturk (the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey) invited Hagop Martayan to reform the Turkish language - to translate the Ottoman-Turkish language from Arabic to Latin.

In 1934, Kemal Ataturk suggested for Hagop Martayan the title Dilacar literally meaning "Turkish language opener".

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Pavel Aghajanov, one of the founders of Soviet cosmonautics

Pavel Aghajanov (Aghajanyan), Armenian design engineer, one of the founders of Soviet cosmonautics, Chief Specialist on the creation of the first artificial Earth satellite, of the first intercontinental ballistic missiles, the head of work on the creation of the Command Measuring Complex (CFC), which was used during the flights of Sputnik-1 and of the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin

Outstanding Specialist in Aircraft Radio Control Systems.
Chief specialist in programs for the creation of the first intercontinental ballistic missiles, launch vehicles and the first artificial Earth satellite.
The head of work on the creation of the center of the Command and Measuring Complex to ensure the flight of spacecraft.
He made an invaluable contribution to the creation of measuring instruments at the Kapustin Yar rocket center (popularly Kapyar) and the Baikonur cosmodrome, and then the space Command and Measurement Complex (CFC). Organizer of telecommunication - telemetry system.
CFC was used during the flight of the first artificial satellite of the Earth and the first manned space flight, for the programs “Moon”, “Venus”, “Mars”. He equipped the stations for equipping the Molniya television satellite, about 2,000 Ekran stations, 100 Orbit stations, 100 Moscow stations, etc.

Awards
Two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor
Order of the Red Star
Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree
Order of the Badge of Honor
Lieutenant General Engineer
Professor
Doctor of Technical Sciences
Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (since 1991 - Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences)
Member of the Russian Academy of Engineering
Honorary Member of the International Academy of Engineering
Laureate of the Lenin Prize (awarded with S.P. Korolev and M.V. Keldysh)
Winner of the Prize of the Council of Ministers of the USSR

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Roger Altounyan, inventor of asthma inhaler and of medicine for it

Roger Edward Collingwood Altounyan was an Anglo-Armenian physician and pharmacologist who invented the asthma inhaler and pioneered the use of sodium cromoglycate as a remedy for asthma.

Nowadays many and many dozens millions of asthmatics around the world cannot imagine their life without an aerosol inhaler invented by Roger Altounyan. This invention and medicine for it provide almost complete protection against antigen, saving the lives of nearly 100 million asthmatics around the world.

Roger Altounyan proved himself as well in other areas of life. In 1941 Altounyan joined the Royal Air Force and became a flying instructor. He was regarded as an "exceptional" instructor of bomber pilots and in 1943 he was appointed to the staff of a school for flying instructors. He was awarded the Air Force Cross for developing new techniques in night flying.

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Ed Iskenderian, an inventor of racing camshafts called Chevrolet's "Legends of Performance"

Ed Iskenderian, an Armenian pioneer of new technology, he produced camshafts offering noticeable performance gains over the conventional racing camshafts.

Iskenderian was the first to employ computers to aid in precision camshaft design, enabling him to create the most advanced racing cam profiles of the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. When economy cars became popular and gas mileage became important to people, Isky designed new economy- and street-performance hydraulic camshafts.

Ed Iskenderian's achievements:

Created the industry’s first hard-face overlay camshafts
Developed the first high-density chilled-iron lifters for drag racing
Produced the industry’s first hydraulic racing camshafts, drop-in self-locking roller tappets, anti-pump-up hydraulic lifters, and high-RPM high-pressure valve springs
Offered the industry’s first coordinated cam and valve-spring assembly kits
Started the first corporate sponsorship of a race team for Don Garlits, who gave Isky the “Camfather” nickname
Pioneered “Ultra Rev Kits” for small block Chevy V-8 roller cams
Designed and manufactured the small block Chevy anti-cam walk kit
Offered the first cams to produce 1 HP/cubic inch on gasoline in Dodge’s early Hemi V-8 engines, and 1.3 HP/cubic inch on gasoline in Chevy’s 283 V-8
Gave his new cam profiles dynamic or exotic-sounding names like “Polydyne 505 Magnum”, “Five-Cycle” and “Superleggera 550” to help promote them
In the 1950s, established the first manufacturers' cash contingency awards for drag racing
In 1963, helped found SEMA, the Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association, today renamed as the Specialty Equipment Market Association, and served as its first president in 1963-‘64
In 1985, was inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame and awarded Chevrolet’s Legends in Performance award