Chemist, born in Moscow, Russia. An officer in the Russian army, he was professor of chemistry at the Artillery Academy in St Petersburg (18981906). He synthesized isoprene, the basic unit of natural rubber, and made contributions to the catalytic chemistry of unsaturated carbons, of great value to the petrochemical industry. During World War 1 he directed Russia's chemical industry. He emigrated to the USA in 1930, and became professor at Northwestern University (19315), where he developed a process for making high-octane petrol.
Vladimir Nikolayevich Ipatieff (also Ipatiev, Russian: Владимир Николаевич Ипатьев) (November 21, 1867 (November 9 OS) - November 29, 1952) was a Russian and American chemist.
Born in Moscow, Ipatieff first studied artillery in the Mikhailovskaya artillery academy in Petersburg, then later studied chemistry in Russia and Germany. With the start of World War I, Ipatieff organized a dedicated laboratory in Petersburg which made improvements to the chemical weaponry and the methods of chemical protection for the army. Before the October revolution, Ipatieff was a General-Lieutenant of the Russian army and a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
After the revolution, Ipatieff was active in creating and heading several important chemical research centers in Soviet Russia. By late 1920s, however, Ipatieff was starting to feel threatened because of his past in the Czarist army and because he had friends among those convicted in the Industrial Party trial. In 1930, Ipatieff went to Munich to visit his German colleagues, but instead of returning to the USSR he fled to the United States.
In the US, Ipatieff was a professor at the Northwestern University in Chicago and worked for Universal Oil Products Company.
Vladimir Ipatieff had three sons: Dmitry, Nikolai and Vladimir. Vladimir Vladimirovich Ipatieff, also a talented chemist, remained in the USSR and was arrested after the defection of his father. While living in the USA, Ipatieffs also adopted two Russian girls.
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