Grinshpun (Grinspun) Samuil Ilyich (12 June 1915, Kyiv – 8 October 1982, Riga) — engineer, industrial organiser.
Born and raised in Kyiv, Samuil Grinshpun began his career in 1931 as a sixth-class metalworker. From 1932 to 1933, he worked as a technician-mechanic at the Dombal Tram Plant in Kyiv, and from 1933 to 1934, at the First State Shoe Factory.
From 1934 to 1938, he studied electrical engineering at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. After graduating, he worked in the Glavelektromontazh system of the USSR Ministry of Heavy Industry Construction until 1953. From 1938 to 1949, he served as site foreman, section head, and deputy chief engineer of the Installation Directorate in Gorky; in 1944–1945, he was chief engineer in Tula.
From 1945 to 1953, he worked as chief engineer of Plant No. 12 (Riga Lighting Engineering Plant). From 1953 to 1954, he was chief engineer for the Riga CHP (central heating and power station) project at the Teploelektroproyekt Institute.
In 1954, he became chief engineer at the design and engineering bureau of the Latvian Industrial Council, and in 1960, chief technologist at the Design and Planning Bureau of the Latvian Economic Council.
In 1962, Samuil Grinshpun was appointed chief engineer of the newly established SKB (Special Design Bureau) for Vacuum Coatings in Riga, which was formed under his initiative and lobbying. Originally intended for developing reflective coatings for mirrors and holiday ornaments, under his leadership it evolved into a nationally significant institution reporting directly to the Latvian State Planning Committee (Gosplan) from 1966.
SKB was tasked with developing ultra-thin films (as thin as 0.1 microns) with durable reflective and insulating properties for use in space technology—previously only imported from Japan. Under Grinshpun's leadership, a team of talented engineers and scientists solved numerous challenges across vacuum coating technology for a wide range of applications, including specialised optics for telescopes, semitransparent mirrors, conductive layers on dielectrics, and alternatives to galvanic plating.
One of SKB's landmark developments was an advanced evaporative unit using an electron-beam gun to apply continuous aluminium coatings in a vacuum. This made it possible to apply decorative and reflective coatings not just on films, but also on synthetic fabrics and leather.
In 1968, Grinshpun defended a dissertation on protective and decorative vacuum coatings. However, in 1972, under pressure from party officials unwilling to allow a Jew to continue heading such a strategically important institution, he was forced to leave SKB.
He was subsequently invited by L.D. Lubotsky, then Chairman of the Latvian State Supply Committee (Gossnab), to work at NOTSNAB (Scientific and Technical Supply Organisation). Samuil Grinshpun retired in 1975.