The Ponukalin pedagogical dynasty has three generations of physicists, psychologists, and sociologists. It is curious that many of them started their activities at the physics department of SSU.
Alexey Alekseevich Ponukalin, Sr.: at the origins of psychology
The Ponukalin University dynasty begins with Alexei Alekseevich Ponukalin. He was born on April 16, 1938 in the family of military pilot Alexei Pavlovich Ponukalin. Together with his father, Alexey Alekseevich visited liberated Berlin in 1945. Since his youth, A.A. Ponukalin was passionate about amateur radio, and at school he was particularly interested in the exact sciences, which he then devoted his life to studying and teaching.
ВDuring his studies at the Physics faculty of SSU, he was an active student: in the late 1960s, A.A. Ponukalin headed the regional headquarters of student construction teams, participated in the construction of the Balakovo hydroelectric power station. While studying at the university, he worked as a laboratory assistant at the Department of Electronics.
In 1964, A.A. Ponukalin graduated with a degree in Radio Electronics. His supervisor was Professor, Head of the Department of Electronics, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences V.N. Shevchik.
In 1971, Vladimir Nikolaevich Shevchik, being the rector of SSU (1970-1977), invited A.A. Ponukalin to take over the newly created research laboratory. In it, scientists studied the problems of biophysics, psychoacoustics, and engaged in the design of devices. This scientific work then played a key role in the fact that Alexey Alekseevich, having knowledge in the field of fundamental physics, was able to master the laws of psychology.
In the early 1970s, students began to study Psychology at the university again. In this regard, Rector V.N. Shevchik in 1972 instructed A.A. Ponukalin, together with the head of the Department of Pedagogy and Psychology L.P. Doblaev, to equip a workshop on general psychology with instrument studies.
A.A. Ponukalin invited his fellow scientists, including R.H. Tugushev, V.V. Kozach and others, to work in the laboratory.
"All the closest people from my father's entourage who had a physical education and were close to him entered this laboratory. The main task of the university laboratory was research in the field of psychology," says A.A. Ponukalin Jr.
During his teaching career, Alexey Alekseevich taught a course in engineering psychology, organized an internship for psychology students at large enterprises of the military-industrial complex.
"My father was an innovator. For him, it was a passion to develop an interesting new business that needs to be built almost from scratch. Imagine, he graduated from the physics department and created a psychological laboratory out of the blue! The new psychology subjects he started teaching had never been taught before. Serious personal qualities are needed to implement such projects," recalls A.A. Ponukalin Jr.
In 1979, at the Institute of Psychology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, A.A. Ponukalin defended his PhD thesis on labor psychology and engineering psychology under the guidance of his teacher, Professor, Deputy Director for Scientific Work at the IPAN of the USSR Yu.M. Zabrodin on the topic "Psychological features of evaluating complex signals".
In his article "SSU: physics in psychology" A.A. Ponukalin wrote: "Those years were probably the most fruitful for us in a scientific sense. We lived merrily then, celebrated significant dates, the laboratory and the department were like one family."
As his son A.A. Ponukalin Jr. recalls, his father developed an unusual teaching style: He talked to the students in a rather monotonous, unemotional way. At the same time, Alexey Alekseevich always kept in touch with his students, was ready to answer their questions. His lectures were intense, and his narration was a discussion on the topic of the lesson. This approach attracted students, which allowed them to better assimilate the material.
In the difficult period of the 1990s for the whole country, A.A. Ponukalin had to work at 3-4 jobs. For example, he worked as a sound engineer at the Saratov State Academic Drama Theater.
"The most persistent remained in teaching in the 90s. A lot of people left this profession, but my father somehow managed to actually reconfigure his life and was able to continue doing this business," recalls A.A. Ponukalin Jr.
In 1996, A.A. Ponukalin became the head of the Department of Psychology and Acmeology at SSTU, which he headed until 2009. Then Alexey Alekseevich took up the promising idea of humanizing education at a technical university, which he successfully implemented. At the same time, A.A. Ponukalin did not stop teaching at SSU.
A.A. Ponukalin published textbooks and books. His two-volume work on acmeology was awarded the highest award from the Ministry of Education of Russia.
Alexey Alekseevich defended his doctoral dissertation in sociology in 1997 on the topic "Sociological justification of educational programs of the head of the sociopsychological service".
During his scientific career, Alexey Alekseevich became the author of numerous publications on general and social psychology. A.A. Ponukalin was awarded the title of "Honorary Worker of Higher Professional Education of the Russian Federation".
It is impossible not to recognize the merits of A.A. Ponukalin in public life. So, in 2015, with the support of the Governor of the region V.V. Radaev, he organized the movement "Heirs of Victory". The tasks of the association included maintaining communication between the generation of Soviet victorious soldiers and their modern descendants, holding memorial events.
A.A. Ponukalin passed away on June 9, 2016, he was 79 years old. Undoubtedly, Alexey Alekseevich left a bright mark in the history of Saratov physical, psychological, and sociological scientific schools.
"The image of my father immediately comes to mind when talking about mentoring," says A.A. Ponukalin Jr. about his father. – He was a teacher for many, but at least for me he was the best mentor in life and science. My father's advice still guides me through life, helps me overcome the most difficult and unusual situations."
Alexey Alekseevich Ponukalin Jr.
Alexey Alekseevich Ponukalin Jr. was born on October 3, 1969. For him, even as a teenager, his father became a role model.
In 1992, A.A. Ponukalin graduated from the Physics Department of SSU with a degree in physics and optics. His supervisor was Professor, Head of the Department of Optics, Doctor of Physico-Mathematical Sciences V.V. Tuchin.
For a long time, A.A. Ponukalin worked in the field of electric power industry. Then he worked at a radio factory, where he headed the marketing department.
"Many of my noble deeds, which come from the heart and not from the head, are somehow connected with my father. As a mentor, he instilled in me what is important and meaningful for a person in life," says A.A. Ponukalin Jr.
In 1998, Alexey Alekseevich received an education in Psychology at the SSU Department of Psychology. In 2004, after working on a socio-psychological project related to the Balakovo NPP, he defended his PhD thesis in sociological sciences on the topic "Strategy of social management of nuclear energy development".
Alexey Alekseevich went to teaching for a long time, in 2004 he began teaching at the Department of Psychology and Acmeology of the SSU, which was then headed by his father. He completed his postgraduate studies at the same department a year earlier.
"What has teaching given me? It just changed my life! Of course, the process of mastering this profession at the age of 34 was quite difficult, but in the end I really fell in love with this business," A.A. Ponukalin Jr. notes.
In 2010, when the Faculty of Psychology was being created at Saratov University, Dean L.N. Aksenovskaya invited A.A. Ponukalin to work in a new educational unit. Alexey Alekseevich's first courses were devoted to the psychology of work and management.
The main task of a teacher, according to Alexey Alekseevich, is to reveal the potential of each student's personality. To do this, A.A. Ponukalin uses a variety of methods in his teaching practice. For example, he always welcomes creative presentations by students on the topic of the course in his classes. In addition, at his seminar, during the selection of the topic of the final qualifying work, A.A. Ponukalin always tries to take into account the interest of each student.
Alexey Alekseevich believes that the student needs to be given the key information that would arouse his interest for further research activities. The most important thing is to motivate a person for new achievements.
"The profession of a teacher is the first and only important one. If the teacher did not cope with his task, then there will be no professionals in society who will develop the country. Our teaching mistakes can turn out to be much more serious than man–made disasters," A.A. Ponukalin believes.
Alexey Alekseevich notes that while communicating with students, it is important for him to share his research experience with young people, as well as to receive ground for reflection from the new generation.
A.A. Ponukalin has been successfully working as a teacher for 20 years. Today Alexey Alekseevich is the deputy dean for scientific work, scientific secretary of the Faculty of Psychology, associate professor of the Department of Social Psychology, author of programs in 17 courses, including labor psychology and management psychology, social psychology of the group, social psychology of innovation.
"My father taught me to be a person capable of understanding any area of life. This skill was very useful to me at different stages of my formation: I could more easily adapt to difficult and unusual situations that I encountered on the way," says A.A. Ponukalin.
It so happened that other members of the dynasty were associated with work in the field of psychology and teaching.
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Thanks to a sincere thirst for research, the Ponukalin dynasty was able to unleash its high intellectual potential in physics, psychology and sociology, where each member of a large scientific family left a significant mark on the development of science.
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The text by Daniil Pronin
The photos from the interviewees’ archives, om-saratov.ru, the SSTU web-site, and the SSU web-site
