XXV Gamow International Astronomical Conference in Odessa is devoted to:
- the 120th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding scientist George Gamow;
- 25th anniversary of the annual Gamow Conferences held in Odesa
- 160th anniversary of Odesa I.I. Mechnikov National University
Georgij (George) Antonovich Gamow is one of the greatest physicists and
cosmologists of the 20th century. Gamow made an important and decisive
contribution to modern physics, cosmology and biology. His three most
significant contributions to these fields are:
- He discovered the quantum nature of alpha-decay in nuclear physics (1928).
- He proposed the theory of the Hot Universe (1946-1953).
- He found the clue to the genetic code in biology (1954).
George Gamow was born in Odessa. Here, he leaved the secondary school and was for two years a student of the Novorossiisk University of Odessa. Wherever Gamow lived, he retained his character and his sharp Odessian humor. During the conference, participants will be able to visit the sights of Odessa, to see and feel its colour and to walk along the Gamow places described in his book “My World Line: an Informal Autobiography”.
Sections
- Cosmology, gravitation, astroparticle physics, high energy physics.
- Astrophysics 1: nucleosynthesis, stellar atmospheres, kinematics, structure and chemical evolution of the Galaxy
- Astrophysics 2: Interacting Binary Systems and Variable Stars
- Extragalactic astronomy and Astroinformatics
- Radio astronomy
- Sun, Solar activity, Solar-terrestrial relations and Astrobiology
- Solar System, Exoplanets and Near-Earth astronomy
- Biologic section “Gamow’s ideas in 21st century biology”
- Astronomical education, Astronomy Outreach
- Subsection: Astronomical Education and Astronomy Outreach
- Subsection: Planetariums in Ukraine
SCIENTIFIC TOPICS:
Cosmology, gravitation, astroparticle physics, high energy physics, extragalactic astronomy, astrophysics, radio astronomy, solar activity and solar-terrestrial relations, Solar system, exoplanets, astrobiology, genetics.
Scientific Oranizing Commitee
Co-Chairs:
A. I. Zhuk (ONU, Ukraine/CASUS, Germany)
M. Capaccioli (Naples University, Italy)
Vice-Chair: M.I. Ryabov (IRA NASU, Ukraine)
Secretary: S.M. Melikiants (ONU, Ukraine)
Members of SOC:
S.M. Andrievsky (ONU, Ukraine) , I.L. Andronov (ONMU, Ukraine), S.V. Chebotar (ONU, Ukraine) , I. Eglitis (Institute of Astronomy, Latvia), K. Georgieva (SRTI, Bulgaria), W.Godlowski (Opole Univ, Poland), N.I. Koshkin (ONU, Ukraine), I. Kudzej (Vihorlat observatory in Humenne, Slovakia), E.F.Milone (Rothney Astrophysical Observatory, University of Calgary, Canada), B.Ya.Melekh (LNU, Ukraine), T.V. Mishenina (ONU, Ukraine), B.S. Novosiadlyi (LNU, Ukraine), E.Paunzen (MUNI, Czechia), I. Shmeld (VIRAC, Latvia), O.M. Ulyanov (IRA NASU, Ukraine), I. Usoskin (Oulu University, Finland) , I.B. Vavilova (MAO NASU, Ukraine), Y.S. Yatskiv (MAO NASU, Ukraine), V.V. Zakharenko (IRA NASU, Ukraine), S.Zola (UJ, Poland)
Local Oranizing Commitee
Chair: V. I. Truba (Rector of ONU)
Vice-Chair: M. I. Ryabov
Members of LOC:
V.V. Breus, L.L.Chinarova, N.I. Koshkin, L.S. Kudashkina, S.M. Melikiants, S.L. Strakhova, A.L. Sukharev, V.O. Yushchenko, D.A. Zabora
The 2025 conference is dedicated to the 121th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding scientist George Gamow. Gamow was one of the active participants in the revolution in physics and astrophysics of the 20th century, and his name holds honor among such great minds as A. Einstein, N. Bohr, E. Rutherford, M. Planck, and others. Today, the popularity of George Gamow is attributed not only to the breadth of his scientific interests but also to his unique “Gamow style” in solving scientific problems.
The conference will highlight contemporary trends in the development of cosmology and astrophysics, especially in areas where George Gamow actively contributed. The event will also show case unique materials from the life and work of George Gamow, including documents related to the scientific conferences he organized at the University of Washington from 1935 to 1942.
In 2025, it marks 25th anniversary of the annual Gamow Conferences held in Odesa – the city where George Gamow was born and raised, and where he chose his scientific career. The Odesa conferences continue the traditions laid by George Gamow at the University of Washington. Since 2000, the Gamow Conferences have been held annually in Odesa. The Odesa National University named after
I.I.Mechnikov instituted the commemorative Gamow Medal, awarded to distinguished scientists participating in the Gamow Conferences. Since 2022, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine has established the Gamow Prize in the field of cosmology and astrophysics. In Odesa, one of the squares is named after Georgy Gamow, and a memorial plaque on the main building of the university commemorates his time as a student. These achievements are largely due to the Odesa Gamow Conferences, and the Organizing Committee hopes that this tradition will be successfully continued.
Conference agenda:
The Conference Program will be organized in the form of on-line sessions
- Plenary reports on anniversaries;
- Plenary sessions – the 30-40 minutes lectures about the actual problems of astrophysics, cosmology, radioastronomy, astroparticle physics and gravitation;
- Section meetings with 15-20 minutes reports;
- The affiliate sections and subsections;
- Discussions.
For participants there will be also organized a “poster session” in the form of short oral reports (5-8 minutes). Conference participants will be provided with zoom links to all sessions in advance. Conference participants who are in Odessa will be able to take part in an offline session at the astronomical observatory in Shevchenko Park.
Working language of the Gamow International Conference is English.
Scientific articles based on plenary and section reports are invited to be published as regular papers in the current issue of «Odessa Astronomical Publications» (http://oap.onu.edu.ua/), which will be completed this year.
We also plan to publish reports on radioastronomy in «Radioastronomy and Radiophysics» in this year.
“My World Line” by George Gamow
1904 Born, March 4, Odessa, Ukraine
In his school days Gamow became very much interested in astronomy, examining the starry sky through a little telescope, his father’s present on the thirteenth birthday of his son. Gamow then decided to become a scientist and began his study of mathematics, physics, and astronomy.
1922-1923 Student at Novorossia University, Odessa
1923-1929 Student at University of Leningrad
After graduation from the University of Leningrad in 1926, he attended summer school in Gottingen and decided to see if the newly-formulated quantum theory, so successful in explaining the structure of the atom, could also be applied to the atomic nucleus. Through research he was able to explain the then-mysterious phenomenon of natural radioactivity as well as the experiments of Lord Rutherford on the induced transformation of light elements. On the basis of this research, Gamow received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Leningrad.
1928-1929 Fellow of Theoretical Physics Institute of the University of Copenhagen
Later, in Copenhagen, when he told Niels Bohr of his work, Bohr offered him a year at the Institute of Theoretical Physics on a stipend from the Royal Danish Academy. There Gamow proposed a hypothesis that atomic nuclei can be treated as little droplets of so-called “nuclear fluid.” These views led ultimately to the present theory of nuclear fission and fusion.
At this period Gamow also collaborated with F. Houtermans and R. Atkinson in attempts to apply his formula for calculating the rate of induced nuclear transformations to the so-called thermonuclear reaction in the interior of the Sun and other stars. This formula, originally applied only to astronomical topics, is now successfully used for designing H-bombs, as well as for studying the possibility of controlled thermonuclear reactions.
1929-1930 Rockefeller Fellow, Cambridge University
1930-1931 Fellow of Theoretical Physics Institute of the University of Copenhagen
1931 Married Lyubov Vokhminzeva; divorced 1956
1931-1933 Professor, University of Leningrad
Gamow spent a year working with Lord Rutherford at Cambridge, a second year in Copenhagen, and later became a professor at the University of Leningrad.
1933-1934 Fellow of Pierre Curie Institute, Paris. Visiting Professor, University of London
1934 Lecturer, University of Michigan
While attending the International Solvay Congress in Brussels, he was invited, in the summer of 1934, to lecture at the University of Michigan.
1934-1956 Professor, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
During the early years in Washington he collaboratedwith Edward Teller on the theory of beta-decay, and formulated the so-called “Gamow-Teller Selection Rule for Beta Emission.”
While Gamow was in Washington he developed the theory of the internal structure of red giant stars. With Mario Schoenberg he developed the theory of the so-called Urca process; and, with Ralph Alpher, the theory of the origin of chemical elements by the process of successive neutron capture.
1956-1968 Professor, University Of Colorado
1968 George Gamow Passed Away at Age 64
The George Gamow Memorial Lectures were initiated by the Department of Physics and Mrs. Barbara Gamow after the death of her husband. The lecture series began in 1971 and is now maintained by a bequest to the Regents of the University of Colorado from the Will of Mrs. Barbara Gamow, who died in December 1975.