Valdis Gavars, Creator of the Atomic Reactor in Salaspils, Has Died 0 5

Gavars was born on May 10, 1934, in Rezekne to a family of doctors. He received his education at the then Riga Industrial Polytechnic and the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute. In 1971, Gavars earned a Candidate of Sciences degree at the Nuclear Energy Center in the Ulyanovsk region of the RSFSR.

In 1992, he obtained a Doctor of Engineering degree from the Riga Technical University. Gavars' scientific work was dedicated to nuclear energy. He began working in this field alongside its establishment in the 1950s. During the construction of the Salaspils Research Nuclear Reactor in 1959, he became its chief engineer. After the successful launch of the reactor in 1961, Gavars engaged in research in the field of nuclear technology and continued to lead the reactor team.

One of the most original nuclear reactor installations, co-authored by Gavars, was the radiation circuit created by Latvian specialists—a source of gamma radiation that significantly expanded the capabilities of the Salaspils reactor.

This made it possible to apply radiochemical technologies on a large scale, such as polyethylene polymerization, polymer concrete production, material sterilization, and others. Under Gavars' leadership, a project was developed to create an industrial radiation-chemical production facility at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant.

In 1986, after the Chernobyl disaster, Gavars was one of the leaders of the scientific and technical group that developed and implemented a plan of actions and procedures that protected the territory of Latvia and its residents from the devastating consequences of the accident.

After the restoration of Latvia's independence and until 2017, Gavars worked in the development department of JSC "Latvenergo" as a lead engineer.

Gavars published more than 90 scientific articles, including in internationally recognized journals. He is also the author of eight inventions and seven patents.

For his lifelong contribution to the development of science and energy in Latvia, Gavars was awarded the title of Officer of the Order of the Three Stars in 2020.