Gleb Mamantov

1931–1995

The research laboratories in Dabney Hall are named for Gleb Mamantov, internationally recognized chemist in molten salt chemistry, who joined the university faculty as assistant professor of chemistry in 1961 and served as head of the Chemistry Department from 1979 until his death in 1995. The son of two physicians, Mamantov was born in Kapsava, Latvia. The anticommunist Mamantov family fled westward in 1944 when the Soviets overran the Baltic States and lived in a displaced persons camp in Kleinkotz, Germany, from 1945 to 1949, when they immigrated to the United States. Mamantov became a United States citizen in 1955.

He earned the BS (1953), MS (1954) and PhD (1957) from Louisiana State University. He then entered the US Air Force and served in rocket propulsion at Edwards Air Force Base. He edited nine books, including five volumes of Advances in Molten Salt Chemistry and Characterization of Solutes in Non-Aqueous Solvents. He authored or coauthored 32 book and proceedings chapters and more than one hundred publications in scientific journals. He held three patents. His international recognition includes the Meggers Award of the Society of Applied Spectroscopy (1983). He made a trip to Latvia in 1993, where he was honored for his achievements in chemistry and made a lifetime member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. In 1994 he received the Max Bredig Award for outstanding scientific contributions to molten salt chemistry. Mamantov was a fellow of the American Institute of Chemists and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He served as a consultant to the Oak Ridge National Laboratories from 1962 until his death.

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  • Title Gleb Mamantov
  • Coverage 1931–1995
  • Author
  • Keywords Gleb Mamantov
  • Website Name Volopedia
  • Publisher University of Tennessee Libraries
  • URL
  • Access Date March 29, 2024
  • Original Published Date
  • Date of Last Update October 9, 2018