January 9 is the the 90th anniversary of the birth of Kirill Sergeevich Aleksandrov, Soviet and Russian physicist, specialist in crystallography and crystal physics, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences (RAS), professor, USSR State Prize laureate, director (1981– 2003) of the L.V. Kirensky Institute of Physics SB RAS.
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Aleksandrov was born on January 9, 1931 in Leningrad. In 1948 he entered the Leningrad Electrotechnical Institute, and graduated from it with honors. His scientific activity began during his post graduate studies under the supervision of Academician A.V. Shubnikov at the Institute of Crystallography of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
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After completing his postgraduate course in 1958, Kirill Sergeevich was invited to Krasnoyarsk to become the head of the crystal physics laboratory at the L.V. Kirensky Institute of Physics of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Ten years later, he was appointed deputy director of the Institute of Physics SB AS USSR. Since 1981, he became the director of the L.V. Kirensky Institute of Physics, Head of the Department of Solid State Physics, Professor of the Krasnoyarsk State University.⠀

His scientific works in the field of structural phase transitions are world-wide recognized, having made a great contribution to understanding the nature of structure instability, possible structural distortions and associated changes in dielectric, optical and other properties of various crystals used in modern technology, radio, acoustic and optoelectronics. These studies also led to the development of methods for synthesizing  and directly modifying properties of solid materials for acoustic and magneto-optical applications, as well as to the creation of new devices based on these materials.

Academician Aleksandrov was a member of the Joint Scientific Council for Physical and Technical Sciences of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences; he was the Head of the Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences on Physics of Ferroelectrics and Dielectrics and a member of other councils and editorial boards of the journals “Crystallography”, “Solid State Physics” and other international journals.
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He was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples, and two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor.⠀