I. Prigogine

Dates

January 25, 1917 – May 28, 2003

Authorized Form of Name

Prigogine, I. (Prigogine)

Additional Forms of Names

Prigogine, Ilya (Ilya Romanovič), 1917-2003

Prigogine, Iyla

Prigozhin, I. (Ilʹi︠a︡)

Prigozhin, Ilʹi︠a︡ Romanovich

Пригожин, И. P., 1917-2003

Biography

Abstract

Ilya Prigogine won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1977 "for his contributions to non-equilibrium thermodynamics, particularly the theory of dissipative structures." He was an influential figure in the fields of chemistry and philosophy, and is now called the "grandfather of chaos theory." He held positions at the Free University of Brussels and the University of Texas, Austin for the majority of his career as a scientist.

Important Dates

January 25, 1917Birth, Moscow (Russia).

1939Obtained BSc in Chemistry and Physics, Free University of Brussels (Université Libre de Bruxelles), Brussels (Belgium).

1941Obtained PhD in Chemical Sciences, Free University of Brussels (Université Libre de Bruxelles), Brussels (Belgium).

1947 – 1959Professor of Chemistry, Free University of Brussels (Université Libre de Bruxelles), Brussels (Belgium).

1949Obtained Belgian citizenship.

1959Director, International Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Solvay, Belgium.

1959 – 1967Regental Professor; Ashbel Smith Professor of Physics and Chemical Engineering; and Cofounder and Director, Center for Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics (1967), University of Texas, Austin, Austin (Tex.).

1960Honorary Foreign Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

1961 – 1966Affiliated with Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago.

1967Member, Royal Society of Sciences (Kungl. Svenska vetenskapsakademien).

1967Foreign Associate, National Academy of Sciences.

1970Corresponding Member, Physics and Mathematics of the Academy of Sciences of Gottingen (Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen).

1970President, International Council for Scientific Development.

1971Honorary Member, Chemical Society of Poland (Polskie Towarzystwo Chemiczne).

1973Member, International Academy of Philosophy of Science.

1976Awarded the Rumford Medal, Royal Society.

1977Awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his contributions to non-equilibrium thermodynamics, particularly the theory of dissipative structures".

1979Foreign Fellow, Indian National Science Academy.

1980Member and Vice President, European Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters (Académie Européenne des Sciences, des Arts et des Lettres).

1982Member, Honorary Committee of Archives of Psychology, Geneva University (Université de Genève).

1989Titled Viscount by King Baudouin I of Belgium.

1993Awarded Medal of the Ville de Milan.

1993Awarded Medal of the Ville de Trieste.

1997President, Ilya Prigogine Seminar "Pensar la Science," Free University of Brussels (Université Libre de Bruxelles).

1997Awarded Medal of Ibaraki University.

1999Honorary Director, International Institute for Research, Universidad del Salvador.

May 28, 2003Death, Brussels (Belgium).

Occupation

Physical chemist.

Places

Subjects

Physical chemistry.

Thermochemistry.

Thermodynamics.

Relationships

People

Family

Prigogine, Alexander

Brother.

Prigogine, Pascal

Son.

Prigogine, Roman

Father.

Prigogine, Yves

Son.

Prokopowicz, Marina

Wife, married 1961.