Compton Richard Guy. A.G. Stromberg - First Class Scientist, Second Class Citizen. Letters from the GULAG and a History of Electroanalysis in the USSR

Imperial College Press, 2011. — 376 p. — ISBN 10 1848166753 ISBN 13 9781848166752.Armin G Stromberg was arguably one of the founding fathers of the technique of stripping voltammetry frequently used in chemical analysis, yet he is virtually unheard of in Western scientific circles. He was a brilliant scientist, but due to his German ancestry he was interred in one of the NKVD GULAG camps at the outbreak of the Second World War. This semi-biographical history presents the complete set of 74 surviving letters written by Stromberg to his wife during this period. The letters provide both historians and the interested public with a rare and unique glimpse into the everyday living conditions of inmates in one of the GULAG labour camps. The book also traces Stromberg's life following his release. More importantly, it relates how he founded the thriving Tomsk school to the wider historical context of electroanalysis in the USSR, drawing conclusions about the rate of scientific development as compared to the West and showing how 'wet analysis' remained of vital importance to industry long after equivalent measurements were made elsewhere. Readers will also appreciate how Stromberg's invaluable contributions in the Tomsk School of Electroanalysis laid the foundations for the extensive metallurgical extraction and nuclear industries that dominated the entire Siberian region for many years. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the life and times of an important, yet often overlooked scientist of the Second World War.The Deportation of the Ethnic Populations of Russia‘A Willow in Siberia’: The Family History and Early Life of Armin G. Stromberg Pre-1937Ancestry and Nationality
Armin’s Parents Heinrich and Magda
Letter of Doctor Berezantsev to the Widow Magda R. Stromberg
A Letter about Heinrich H. Stromberg’s Death, Written by Vladimir Mamontov
A World Turned Upside Down
Revolution and a Second Shock for Magda
Educating Armin
Walking on the Edge of a Precipice
Scientific IsolationLetters from the GULAG (March 1942–September 1943)Release, Work in Sverdlovsk and the Start of Polarography in the USSRThe 1959 Nobel Prize for Chemistry Goes to Electroanalysis
The Origins of Polarography
Polarography Revolutionizes Analytical Chemistry
Polarography Changes: Pulse Voltammetry, Static Mercury Drops and Stripping Voltammetry
Polarography Arrives in the USSR
Stromberg’s Research in Sverdlovsk: Wartime and After
Chelyabinsk
Stromberg is Sacked – An Academic Life BeginsThe Tomsk School of ElectroanalysisEarly Years In Tomsk: 1956–1962
The Special Research Laboratory: 1962–1985
Life as a Graduate Student in the Special Research Laboratory
Stromberg and Semchenko: Physical Chemistry
Stromberg’s Reflections on Running His Laboratory and on His Relationships with the Scientific Community
The Special Research Laboratory: The ScienceAppendixLife in Tomsk After RetirementLeaving the Department in 1985 to Retire
Perestroika and Stromberg’s Return to Nizhni Tagil
Science in Retirement: Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks
Hobbies
Vita Brevis Est… Ut Volito Oportet!