Gubkin Dynasties. The History of the Lunin Family

"If you love your profession, if you love your work, then you will succeed."

I am proud to belong to the Lunin dynasty, which has linked its fate with Gubkin University. In total, our family has dedicated more than 300 years to the university.

Parents Rimma Yakovlevna and Alexander Fedorovich Lunin at the defense of Alexander Fedorovich Lunin's PhD thesis

The history of the dynasty began in 1956, when my parents entered the Moscow Oil Institute. They did not have family traditions related to the oil industry, but my father's uncle worked in the USSR Ministry of Oil Industry and instilled in him an interest in chemistry. My father was interested in this science, organized a chemistry club at school, participated in Olympiads, attended preparatory courses at Lomonosov Moscow State University. As a result, he entered the technology faculty of our university. Student life immediately captivated him: events, trips, hiking trips.

Alexander Fedorovich Lunin - assistant of the department of petrochemical synthesis, 1964

However, in his senior years, he became seriously interested in science, disappeared in laboratories, and was involved in the student scientific society. After graduation, he was allowed to work at the university, he defended his PhD dissertation and in 1976 he headed the department of petrochemical synthesis. Under his leadership, a generation of scientists grew up, and future heads of departments became his students.

Alexander Fedorovich Lunin, defending his PhD thesis, 1965

When my father transferred to the Department of Organic Chemistry, he paid great attention to teaching methods: he wrote notes himself, developed visual aids. He even explained the hybridization of molecules using balloons, making complex things simple. In 1984, he was sent as an adviser to Afghanistan, and after returning, he became the founder of the Department of Ecology. From 1989 to 1993, he was the dean of the faculty, restructured the educational process, science, and made a huge contribution to the development of the university.

Father Alexander Fedorovich Lunin, 1976

My mother also came to the university in 1956. She entered together with a friend whose father worked here. She was half a point short of admission, but the system allowed her to attend lectures along with students, and later become one of them. So she ended up at the faculty where she met my father.

I grew up surrounded by chemistry. Terms, formulas, discussions of scientific topics were part of everyday life. My father often brought colleagues and teachers to the house, it seemed to me that this was a natural environment. I even graduated from the same school as my father, studying with his former teachers. I wanted to study no worse than he did, so the question of choosing a university did not even arise.

Elena Chernysheva (Lunina) during her internship at the Baku Oil Refinery, 1981

In 1979, I entered the chemical engineering department. Student life was eventful, but the main thing was the internship. We worked at factories for two or three months, becoming part of a real production facility. After graduation, I entered graduate school, defended my PhD thesis, worked as a senior research fellow, and since 1992, as a lecturer at the department. Now I am a professor, and my whole life is connected with the university.

Elena Aleksandrovna Chernysheva (Lunina) at the Virtual Oil Refinery computer center, Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (National Research University), together with the associate professor of the department, Doctor of Engineering Sciences. Mikhail Aleksandrovich Ershov

My brother also became a Gubkin University graduate, but followed in his mother's footsteps - he graduated from the economics department. His work is related to the oil industry. My daughters also chose Gubkin University: the youngest teaches at our department, the eldest defended her dissertation on international economics.

My husband is also a university graduate, he worked as an associate professor at our department. We really do have an oil family, and I am proud of it. We are raising a new generation of specialists, passing on traditions. Continuity is important not only in families, but also in the university as a whole: among students, teachers, employees.