Science

Kazakhstani scientists greately contributed to the world science. One of the first greatest scientists was Al-Farabi (870 – 950). A scientist of encyclopedic knowledge, a philosopher he left the descendants an enormous heritage that effected almost all aspects of knowledge in the middle ages. He touched upon the problems of physics and mathematics, medicine and psychology, education and music in his works. His main works are “Gems of Wisdom”, “Treatise about Points of View of Virtuous City Inhabitants”, “Treatise about classification of sciences”, “Astrology”, “Great Book about Music”.

Chokan Valikhanov (1835-1865), from which Kazakhstan’s Academy of Sciences takes its name, was the first Kazakh scholar, ethnographer and historian. A descendant of Ghenghis Khan, Valikhanov was one of the first Kazakhs to be educated in Russian and published books and articles devoted to the history and culture of Central Asia. Notable works include “Kirghiz (Kazakhs)”, “Traces of shamanism in Kirghiz”, “About Kirghiz nomads' camp” and others containing ethnographic data. He also wrote the Kazakh epic poems “Kozy-Korpesh and Bayan-Sulu” and the Kyrgyz epic “Manas”.

Kanysh Satpayev (1899-1964), the prominent Kazakhstan geologist and public figure, Doctor of geologic-mineral sciences, Academician of Academy of Sciences of USSR and Academy of Sciences of Kazakh SSR, organizer and the first president of Academy of sciences of Kazakh SSR. He created Institute of Geology which became the center of studies of Kazakhstan mineral resources, founder of the Kazakhstan geologist-metallogeny school. He graduated from Tomsk Technological Institute in 1926, returned back to Kazakhstan and became the first qualified Kazakh mining engineer and geologist.

Kanysh Satpayev left after himself more than 640 scientific publications. He made an important contribution to designing of Dzhezkazgan copper deposit. On his initiative there were studied the mineral resources of Mangyshlak, Mugodzhar and Turgay.

Abylkas Saginov (1915-2006), mining engineer, Doctor of the technical sciences, Professor, Academician of the NAS of RK, Hero of Socialist Labour. Graduated from Dnepropetrovsk Mining Institute he passed all the steps of an engineer to Rector of Karagandy Polytechnical Institute.The director of the Institute of the problems of complex land-reclamation of the Central Kazakhstan oblast since 1991. A. Saginov has developed the main positions of the improvement of mining technology, ore and coalfields, controlling the array condition of the rocks, principles of the rational development and use of depths of the region. Under his direction there are introduced trisyllable system of the development of high seam, technological systems and facilities of complex mechanization of the development of fine and average power of coal beds. The author of 279 scientific publications, The Laureate of the State premium of RK (1974, 1986), he was rewarded two Lenin orders and other orders and medals.

Sergazy Adekenov was born in 1956, a chemist, a Doctor of the chemical sciences, a Professor, an Associate member of Kazakhstan National Academy of the Sciences, a member of the New-York academy of the sciences in the USA, a director of the Institute phyto-chemistry of Kazakhstan National Academy of the Sciences since 1995. He caused a big scientific contribution to the chemistry of plants. He explored more than 100 types of the plants. He synthesized more than 200 new derived stamps of plants in Kazakhstan. As a result of his studies perspective group of a regulator of the growing of the plants was revealed. Among his inventions is “Arglabin”, a new antitumor medicine based on one of the kind of the Karaganda steppe wormwood. He is the author of 200 works, some of them are published overseas.

Toktar Aubakirov was born in 1946 in Karaganda. When a boy, T.Aubakirov, gazing at the vast steppe expanses and boundless sky dreamt of flights. He graduated from the Air Force Institute and was a parachutist and test pilot with the rank of Major General in the Kazakhstan Air Force before he was chosen as a cosmonaut.

On October 2, 1991 he launched with Russian and Austrian cosmonauts in Soyuz TM-13 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, and spent over eight days in space. He says he is a happy man, as his dream has come true and moreover – he is the first Kazakh to go into space.