Otto Shpenik
Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

Otto Shpenik was born on July 14, 1938 in Uzhhorod, Transcarpathia. After graduating from the Faculty of Physics of the Uzhhorod State University from 1961 to 1964 he was a PhD student at the department of optics. In 1967 he became a Candidate, and later in 1975 he became the Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. In 1982 he became a Professor. Between 1964 and 1982 he worked at the Uzhhorod State University as a senior engineer, senior scientist, head of the ion processes department of the Problematic Laboratory of electron collision physics, professor of the department of quantum electronics. In 1982 he started working at the Uzhhorod branch of the Nuclear Research Institute, where he held the position of assistant to the head of the department, and from 1988 – the head of the department. From 1992 to 2017 he was Director of the Institute of Electron Physics of NAS of Ukraine. Since 2017 – Directorate Advisor of the Institute.
O. Shpenik is a well-known specialist in the field of experimental atomic and molecular physics, physics of electron and atomic collisions, physical electronics and surface physics. His work in these areas has received international recognition. O. B. Shpenik is considered to be the founder of precision experiments with electron beams with a high degree of monokineticity, which made it possible to identify for the first time the resonant nature of the optical excitation functions of atoms. Under his leadership in the difficult 90s a powerful experimental base was created, a number of original experimental devices were developed: electronic guns, multi-channel sources of atomic and molecular beams, a universal effective ion source. He first developed and created high-performance analyzers and monochromators of electrons with never before seen parameters, including trochoidal and hypocycloidal spectrometers with helical trajectories, vacuum micro-weights, vibrating interrupters of neutral beams. O. B. Shpenik is the author of many experimental methods, including methods for determining absolute cross sections of total electron scattering by atoms and molecules (electron trap method), a quadrupole capacitor for measuring resonant and nonresonant recharging of ions by atoms, metastable spectroscopy, electron backscattering by atoms, molecules, ions and the surface of solids. He and his colleagues first discovered the resonant nature of the excitation of energy levels of atoms near the process threshold, studied in detail the so-called fine structure of the energy dependences of the excitation cross sections of atoms, uniquely proved the decisive role of negative ions in the emergence of “resonances” in the excitation of atomic levels, physics – spectroscopy of negative ions. In the works of Professor Shpenik’s group the effect of particle interaction after collision was first discovered. He has made a significant contribution to the study of the processes of slow ion-atomic and ion-molecular collisions. He was the first to reveal a regular oscillatory structure in the energy dependences of the resonant recharge of alkaline earth ions and the effect of phase interference of quasimolecular thermals, which can only be manifested by polarization of optical radiation induced by collisions of heavy particles. New interesting results are obtained in the study of the dynamics of formation of metastable states in the study of the luminescence of thin films under the action of a low-energy electron beam and in the scattering of slow electrons by the surface of solids. These experiments can be considered a discovery in the study of atoms, molecules and condensed systems.
A large amount of data on the effective cross sections of electron and ion excitation of atoms and simple molecules was obtained by O. Shpenyk and his students that is widely used in the creation of gas lasers, in plasma-chemical technology, in the physics of the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The devices developed by him have been introduced in several laboratories of the CIS countries and Western Europe.
Shpenyk successfully proved himself as a master organizer. He made a significant contribution with the creation of the first problematic laboratory – the Laboratory of Electron and Atomic Collisions by the University of Uzhhorod, and founding the Uzhhorod Department of the Institute of Nuclear Research of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. He is an organizer of numerous scientific conferences, the first Ukrainian scientist to be elected as a member of the General Committee of International Conferences on the Physics of Electron and Atomic Collisions (ICPEAC). His organizational skills as deputy director of the Institute of Scientific Research of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and head of the Uzhhorod Department, were especially fruitful. In a few years under his leadership the department grew quantitatively and qualitatively, creating a powerful experimental base, launching new directions of scientific research, completing the construction of a scientific facility, which greatly contributed to the creation of the first academic scientific institution in Transcarpathia – the Institute of Electron Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Where he became the director.
Shpenyk’s merits have been widely recognized at various levels. He was a member of the General Committee of International Conferences on the Physics of Electronic, Photon and Atomic Collisions, and has repeatedly chaired the organizing committees of various international conferences. He was a member of the “Plasma Physics” Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences, chairman of the Transcarpathian Physical Society, president of the Transcarpathian Department of the Small Academy of Sciences, member of the “Physics” section of the Committee on State Prizes of Ukraine in Science and Technology. O. Shpenyk is an Honored Worker of Science and Technology, laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in the field of science and technology, laureate of the Ivan Pulyuy prize of the NAS of Ukraine, was awarded the Order of Yaroslav the Wise of the 5th degree and “For Merit” of the 3rd degree and 2nd degree, the Honorary badge “Inventor of the USSR”, many commemorative medals of the Transcarpathian Regional Council and the regional state administration, Uzhgorod city council. Honorary citizen of UzhHorod. O. Shpenyk was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit.
Shpenyk is the author of more than 300 scientific works and six inventions. Citation Indexes (h Indexes): Scopus – h = 10 (86 papers, 330 links), Web of Science – h = 9 (85 papers, 297 links), Google Scholar – 14 (227 papers, 773 links). O. Shpenyk has made guest appearances at many international conferences and schools in the United States, England, France, Yugoslavia, and Hungary. He established close cooperation with scientific institutions of Russia, England, Latvia, Hungary. For many years he led an active pedagogical work at the Faculty of Physics at the University of Uzhhorod, taught a number of special courses, supervised numerous courseworks and diplomas. Under his supervision, 5 doctoral and 15 PhD thesises were defended. For his exceptional work, he was awarded with the honorary “Soros professor” title.

    Запесочный И. П., Шпеник О. Б. О резонансном характере возбуждении атомов ртути при столкновениях с медленными электронами // ДАН СССР. – 1965. – Т. 160. №5. С. 1053-1056.

    Шпeник . О. Б., Завілопуло А. М. Плазмотрон – джерело іонів металів. // Матеріали XXI Наукової конференції Ужгородського університету. Серія «Фізика». – 1967. .99102.

  Шпеник О. Б., Запесочный И. П., Завилопуло А. Н. Возбуждение атомов при медленных ионно-атомных столкновениях // ЖЭТФ. – 1971. – Т.60. – Вып. 2 – С. 513-520.

   Панев Г. С, Завилопуло А. Н., Запесочный И. П., Шпеник О. Б. Исследование резонансной перезарядки ионов щелочноземельных элементов // ЖЭТФ. – 1974. – Т. 67. Вып. 1(7). С. 47-53.

    Борзяк П. Г., Завилопуло А. М., Кулюпин Ю. А., Коновалов І. А., Пилипчак К. М., Шпеник О. Б. Світіння металевих плівок при бомбардуванні їх повільнимии електронами. // Доповіді АН УРСР. – 1975. №8,  С.730-731.

    Овчинников В. Л, Харченко В. А., Волович П. Н., Шпеник О. Б. Проявление интерференции квазимлекулярных состояний в поляризации излучения при столкновениях ионов Ca+, Sr+ и Ba+ с атомами инертных газов // ЖЭТФ. – 1977. – Т. 72, Вып. 4, С. 1399-1457.

    Шпеник О. Б., Запесочный И. П., Контрош Е. Э., Непийпов Е. Э. Романюк Н. И. Совтер В. В. Эффекты образования отрицательных ионов и послестолкновительного взаимдействия при соударениях атомов магния с электронами // ЖЭТФ. – 1979. – Т. 76. – Вып. 3. С. 846-855.

Казаков С. М., Коротков А. И. , Шпеник О. Б. Исследование возбуждения автоионизационных уровней атома кадмия вблизи порога // Письма в ЖТФ. – 1980. – Т. 6. – Вып. 7. – С. 421-425.

    Завилопуло А. Н., Снегурский А. В., Шпеник О. Б., Куцина Н. Н. Возбуждение метастабильных состояний атомов инертных газов электронным ударом в припороговой области энергий // ЖЭТФ. 1981. – Т. 81. – Вып. 3(9). – С. 842-850.

     Ципле М. Ю., Овчинников В. Л, Шпеник О. Б. Образование возбужденных состояний атомов и ионов цинка, кадмия и ртути при столкновении с протонами низких энергий // Письма в ЖЭТФ. – 1984. – Т.40. Вып. 11. –С.467-469.

   Шпеник О. Б., Романюк Н. И., Чернышова И. В. Резонансная структура при упругом рассеянии электронов на 180° молекулами N2 и N2O // Письма в ЖЭТФ. – 1985. – Т 41. – Вып 12. –С. 500-502.

    Fabrikant I. I., Shpenik O. B., Zavilopulo A. N., Snegurscy A. V. Electron Impact Formation of Metastable Atoms // Physics Report. – V. 159. No 1-2. P. 1-97.

  Коротков А. И., Митрюхин Л. К., Шпеник О. Б. Околопороговые дифференциальные сечения возбуждения электронами нижних уровней атомов инертных газов // Оптика и спектроскопия. – 1991. –Т. 70. – Вып. 2.

    Romanyuk N. I., Shpenik O. B. Crossed Field (Trochoidal) Electron monochromators and their optimization // Meas. Sci. Instr. – 1994. – V. 5. №3. – P. 239-246.

   Запісочний І. П., Шпеник О. Б. Елементарні процеси та резонансні явища при зіткненнях електронів та іонів з атомами // УФЖ. 1998. – Т. 43. №11. –С.1363-1379.

   Popik T. Yu., Shpenik O. B., Puga P. P., Popik Yu. V. Resonance Tunneling and Slow Electron Reflection Spectra in Layered BiTeI and BiTeBr Semiconuctors // Journal of Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials. – 2000. – V. 2. №2. – P. 171-176.

    Завілопуло А. М., Ремета Є. Ю., Снігурський .О. В., Шпеник О. Б. Метастабільні атоми і млекули. – Львів: Євросвіт, 2001. – 440 с.

   Feyer V. M., Popik T. Yu., Shpenik O. B., Popik Yu. V., Erdevdi M. M. Low-energy electron backscattering spectroscopy of Mg/Mo films // J. of Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena. – 2002. – V. 122. . P. 251-257.

   Popik T. Yu., Feyer V. M., Shpenik O. B., Popik Yu. V., Kinetics of residual gas adsorption on Ge(111) surface in low-energy electron backscattering // Applied Surface Science. – 2006. – 252. – P. 3625-3631.

   Контрош Е. Э. Чернышова И. В., Шпеник О. Б. Припороговая ионизация магния электронным ударом // Оптика и спектроскопия. – 2006. – Т. 101. №4. – С. 570-578.

  Шпеник О. Б., Завілопуло А. М., Агафонова А. С., Романова Л. Г. Мас-спектрометричні дослідження молекули глюкози // Доповіді НАН України – 2008. №5. – С. 96-101.

  Образование метастабильных атомов и молекул в столкновениях с электронами // А. Н. Завилопуло, А. А Митюрева, Е Ю. Ремета, А. В. Снегурский, О. Б. Шпеник. – СПб.: Издательство С.-Петерб. ун-та, 2006. 347 с.

  The interaction of Low-Energy Electrons with Fructose Molecules // I. V. Chernyshova, E. E. Kontrosh, P. P. Markush, and O. B. Shpenik. Technical Physics Letters, 2017, Vol. 43, No. 11, pp. 9981000.

  Electron impact ionization of gas-phase quanine near the threshold // A. N. Zavilopulo, O. B. Shpenik and A. S. Agafonova. Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Opical Physics, 42(2009) 025101

   Возбуждение нижних электронных состяний молекулы урацила медленными электронами // И. В. Чернышова, Е. Э. Контрош, П. П. Маркуш, О. Б. Шпеник. Оптика и спектроскопия, 2012, том 113, №1, с. 711.

  Люминесценция паров цитозина при возбуждении медленными электронами // О. Б. Шпеник, Н. М. Эрдевди, В. В. Звенигродський, Л. Г. Романова. Журнал прикладной спектроскопии, 2013, Т. 80, №1

    Excitation of Lowest Electronic States of the Uracil Molecule by Slow Electrons // I. V. Chernyshova, J. E. Kontrosh, P. P. Markush, and O. B. Shpenik. Optics and Spectroscopy, 2012, Vol. 113, No. 1, pp. 58

  Ионизация и диссоциативния ионизация серы в газовой фазе электронным ударом // А. Н. Завилопуло, П. П. Маркуш, О. Б. Шпеник, М. М. Микита. Журнал технической физики, 2014, том 84, вып. 7.

  Возбуждение паров селена электронным ударом // Н. М. Эрдевди, О. Б. Шпеник, П. П. Маркуш. Оптика и спектроскопия, 2015, том 119, №5, с. 776-782.

   Ионизация молекулы глицерина электронным ударом // А. Н. Завилопуло, О. Б. Шпеник, П. П. Маркуш, Е. Э. Контрош. Журнал технической физики, 2015, том 85, вып. 7.

  Взаимодействие низкоенергетических электронов с молекулами фруктозы // И. В. Чернышова, Е. Э. Контрош, П. П. Маркуш, О. Б. Шпеник. Письма в ЖТФ, 2017, том 43, вып. 22.