Margarita A. Ryashentseva

Ryashentseva earned a doctorate in basic organic synthesis from the M. V. Lomonosov Moscow Institute of Fine Chemical Technology in 1950.

During her career, she spent more than 60 years working in the Zelinsky Institute, beginning as a senior technician. Ryashen­tseva was known for her expertise in organic catalysis and in the synthesis of heterocyclic sulfur- and nitrogen-containing compounds. She developed new, effective metal oxide and metal sulfide catalytic systems for petrochemical processes. Her studies led to selective hydrogenation of polycyclic and heterocyclic systems with rhenium-containing catalysts. She was the author of more than 250 publications and held 39 patents.

Ryashentseva was an honorary scientist of the Russian Federation and was elected a foreign associate member of the Academy of Sciences of Bologna in 1975. She became a member of the New York Academy of Sciences in 1994.

In her last years, Ryashentseva researched both the history of organic catalysis and the founding and development of chemistry research schools in Russia.

She is survived by her son, Vladimir Ryashentsev.