Samvel Kocharyants
Electrical engineering and the coordination of major design programmes
Samvel Kocharyants was a Soviet Armenian electrical engineer and designer, born in Nor Bayazet, now Gavar, in 1909. He received his engineering education at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute, where he also pursued research and teaching.
From 1947, he worked at the design centre of the Soviet atomic programme in the town later known as Sarov. His career was connected with major nuclear weapons engineering projects. Between 1959 and 1990, he served as a chief designer at the All-Union Research Institute of Experimental Physics.
His work involved coordinating research, design and testing across engineering disciplines. His biography forms part of the history of Soviet science and the defence industry. Kocharyants died in 1993; a monument and local historical remembrance preserve his connection with his native Gavar.