Mikhail Molodenskii

Mikhail Sergeevich Molodenskii (Russian: Михаил Сергеевич Молоденский, June 16 [O.S. June 3] 1909 - November 12, 1991) was a famous Soviet physical geodesist. He graduated from Moscow State University (1936), since 1946 he worked for the Institute of Earth Physics (Институт Физики Земли АН СССР). He created an original theory for determining of the Earth shape and its gravitational field based on the surface measurement, built the first Soviet gr... more

Mikhail Sergeevich Molodenskii (Russian: Михаил Сергеевич Молоденский, June 16 [O.S. June 3] 1909 - November 12, 1991) was a famous Soviet physical geodesist. He graduated from Moscow State University (1936), since 1946 he worked for the Institute of Earth Physics (Институт Физики Земли АН СССР). He created an original theory for determining of the Earth shape and its gravitational field based on the surface measurement, built the first Soviet gravimeter, developed a theory of the nutation of Earth. He won the Stalin Prize (1946 and 1951) and the Lenin Prize (1961). His legacy includes the Molodensky transformations, which are commonly used to transform between geodetic datums. less