Yuri Denisyuk

In Memoriam of inventor Yuri Denisyuk, a dedication from his 'holographic friends'

Yuri Nikolaevich Denisyuk (1927-2006), Russian scientist, is considered the inventor of the simplest single-beam setup for holography and the reflection display holograms obtained with his method not only bear his name but, more importantly, are viewable with white light. A very interesting personality with great achievements and academic contribution to knowledge, who was already met with international acclaim during his lifetime as one of the founders of holography together with Denis Gabor (UK, Nobel prize 1971) and Emmett Leith (USA). Though his works are already acknowledged within the borders of the holography circles, his overall academic reputation beyond the strictly Russian-speaking community is limited on account of language barriers. Several web-sites and pages related to Yuri Denisyuk and his holographic technique can be found on the web, however the majority of these are addressed strictly to Russian-speaking audience. This present page therefore has been put together in order to make available material on Yuri Denisyuk mostly in English towards the further dissemination of his heritage.

The content of this page has been carefully selected from the web, private photographs have been submitted by friends and colleagues of him through Mikhail Shevtsov of the State Optical Institute 'Vavilov' and it is supported by ITMO University of St. Petersburg, which preserves his academic legacy and archives. We welcome your own contribution in terms of digital material in memory of Yuri Nikolaevich, the teacher, master, friend and colleague. Finally, this page is humbly intended to pay a tribute to him by focusing on the human nature and the applications arising from his invention. After all, without him, little could the Hellenic Institute of Holography have contributed to the use of display holography as applied in the domain of cultural heritage, a direction already pioneered by himself in the early days.

As a start, view here the relevant Wikipedia article on Yuri Nikolaevich Denisyuk in English, with two further interesting links at the end of it (for those who can read Russian). Also, here an unusual page (with a short obituary) where you may leave your digital 'flowers'.

A video -presentation

From the 7th Int'l Symposium on Display Holography (ISDH2006),  Vladimir Markov offers his own personal perspective for the 'Scientist, Colleague & Friend', as posted on internet courtesy of Kaveh Bazargan, duration of 9 min, language: English.

His story and 'wave photography'

From the Proceedings also of the 7th Int'l Symposium on Display Holography (ISDH2006), the most recognized science historian of Holography  Sean Johnston presents the academic carreer of Denisyuk from his early steps to international acclaim. PDF file in English (only for your perusal, not for redistribution).

Yuri Denisyuk-An Appreciation--ISDH2006 Wales Proceedings.

Holography in his own words

From a special issue of the MIT Press magazine 'Leonardo' (Vol. 25, No. 5) of 1992, a rare article titled 'My Way in Holography' where Yuri Denisyuk analyzes his own pathway. PDF file in English (strictly for your perusal, not for redistribution).

Denisyuk-MyWayInHolography-LeonardoVol25No51992.pdf

Yuri Nikolaevich on camera

This is a relatively rare interview of  Yuri Denisyuk, probably from the time when he assumed the directorship of the Holography Laboratory of the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute of the Russian Academy of Science (St. Petersburg, 1988), in which he outlines the application possibilties of holography. Naturally, in Russian language but (until its full subtitling) you may use the limited-scope automatic translation at our archival channel HiHolography on YouTube.

Beyond display holography

Maybe it is not so widely known that holographic memories and three-dimensional projections were among the areas of interest of Υuri Νikolaevich. Read here an interesting recent article by Nina Ganzherli, close associate of his at the  Ioffe Institute in St. Petersburg, originally published in the Russian journal Technical Physics (Vol. 62, No 10, Apr2017) titled: 'Yu. N. Denisyuk’s Ideas in the Development of Holographic Methods of Obtaining and Projection of Images' (translation into English by E.Smirnova).

A book on Yuri Nikolaevich

On the occasion of the 10th Int'l Symposium on Display Holography  (ISDH2015) , organized in St. Petersburg by ΙΤΜΟ University in collaboration with HiH in memoriam of Yuri Denisyuk, a commemorative edition titled 'The Way to Invention' was specially prepared using archival material researched and put together for this opportunity. This publication in Russian in the form of a hard and soft cover book was made available in limited number of copies but you may view it here in a PDF file, an offer by its editor Prof. S. Stafeev of the Optics Museum of ITMO University. Selected parts/articles are translated into English, contents in English starting on page 239.

Book on Yuri Denisyuk (ITMO 2015).34.97 MB

An archival video featuring Yuri Nikolaevich

Surely there must be several films and videos featuring either Yuri Denisyuk or related to his method. We selected an educational archival video from 1972 on 'Holography and its Possibilities' featuring footage of young Yuri N. Denisyuk. Produced by the Center of Scientific Films of the Creative Association 'Kosmos' of USSR. Naturally in Russian language awaiting its subtitling. But even so, it is worth enjoying it at our archival channel HiHolography in YouTube  by activating (rough) automatic translation.

... and polo-shirts with Yuri Nikolaevich

At the same Symposium  (ISDH2015) which took place in the halls of the St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Academy in memoriam of Yuri Denisyuk, participants could purchase limited edition memorabilia polo-shirts featuring a specially edited photo of Yuri Nikolaevich (as designed by Kostas Sarakinos of HiH).  These are now a classic souvenir, still on offer by request in extremely limited number subject to size availability at the indicative price of 40.00 € plus shipping.

This present page has been put together in 2017 on the anniversary of 90 years since the birth of Yuri Nikolaevich Denisyuk and was published on Dec 3rd, alleged birth date of the invention of single-beam method of Denιsyuk holography (1959).