Vainshtein (Weinstein) Avigdor (Awigdor) Borisovich (1938, Klaipėda, Lithuania – 1998, Riga) – research physicist and educator.
In 1939, Avigdor Vainshtein moved with his family to Riga. From 1941 to 1944, they were evacuated to Tashkent. In 1944, the family returned to Riga. In 1960, he graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at the Latvian State University. From 1960 to 1962, he did compulsory military service. Between 1963 and 1998, he worked at the Faculty of Chemistry at Riga Polytechnic Institute (RPI), as a research associate in the Laboratory of Polymeric Materials and as a lecturer. From 1980, he was Associate Professor in the Department of Polymeric Materials and head of a research group focused on the technology of processing plastics and fibreglass.
In 1972, he defended his dissertation on “The Influence of Fillers on the Rheological Properties and Performance Characteristics of Polyethylene-Based Composite Materials.” His research on polyethylene-based composites, the rheological properties of polymer blends, interfacial surface phenomena, and polymer adhesion to metals and inorganic materials resulted in 90 scientific articles and 9 inventor’s certificates. These developments were applied in enterprises such as the Okhta Research and Production Association “Plastpolymer” (Leningrad?) and the NPO “Plastik” (city unspecified), among others in the plastics processing industry.
A talented educator, Avigdor Vainshtein trained numerous specialists, including candidates of technical sciences. He developed and delivered lecture courses on the fundamentals of plastics technology and the physicochemical properties of polymers. He presented at scientific conferences and conducted joint research with the University of Kassel (Germany).
Avigdor Vainshtein was also a musician, having completed a course at the Latvian State Conservatory under Professor E. Jēkabsons, and performed professionally on the double bass. He participated in four national Song Festivals as a member of the choir conducted by G. Kokars.
Publications include:
– Tiltiņa I. I., Vainshtein A. B., Millers D. K. et al. Study of Radiothermoluminescence in Radiation-Modified Polyethylene, Izvestiya of the Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, 1985, No. 2.
– Vainshtein A. B., Chernobelsky E. S., Karlivans V. P. Thermoluminescence of the Polymer Interfacial Layers in the Polyethylene–Metal System, Izvestiya of the Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, 1988, No. 3.
– Braginsky R. P., Vainshtein A. B. et al. Composition for Radiation Crosslinking, USSR Author’s Certificate No. 638082 (1976).