Artem Alikhanian
From cosmic rays to Armenia’s school of experimental physics
Artem Alikhanian was a Soviet Armenian physicist born in 1908. He graduated from Leningrad University in 1931. His research centred on nuclear physics, cosmic rays and elementary particles.
With his brother Abram Alikhanov, he organized high-altitude research on Mount Aragats and founded the Yerevan Physics Institute in 1943. Alikhanian directed the institute until 1973. Its mountain stations offered opportunities to study particles passing through the atmosphere and to develop methods for detecting them.
He helped advance particle detectors and led the development of Yerevan’s electron ring accelerator. International scientific schools at Nor Amberd brought established researchers and young physicists together across national borders. He died in 1978, leaving an enduring tradition that joined experimental research, scientific instrumentation and education.