Academician, doctor of sciences, professor, laureate of the State Prize (twice) and Lenin prize of USSR, laureate of the Lomonosov and Mendeleev prizes of the Russian academy of sciences, the Hero of socialist labor (twice), holder of ten orders including seven Lenin orders.
Prof. Nesmeyanov was the president of the Russian academy of sciences (1951–1961), the rector of the Moscow State University (1948–1951), the dean of the Chemical Department of the Moscow State University (1945–1948), the head of the committee for the State prizes of USSR (1947–1956), and the head of the committee for the Lenin prizes of USSR (1956–1961). He organized the Moscow State University campus at the Leninskiye Gory (1951) and the Institute of scientific and technical information of USSR (1952). He also was a member of the World Peace Council.
Prof. Nesmeyanov was outstanding scientist, organizer, and builder. He had organized and headed the laboratory of organometallic compounds first in the Institute of Organic Chemistry of USSR (1935–1954) and then in the new Institute of Organoelement Compounds of USSR (1954–1980). A number of the fundamental investigations were carried out under his supervision. Prof. Nesmeyanov had popularized the term «organometallic chemistry» and became the leader of this science in USSR. He had also organized the investigations of artificial and synthetic food chemistry.
Prof. Nesmeyanov had discovered the reaction of diazo-compounds with metal halides which was later named after him. This reaction is widely used for the synthesis of organic derivatives of non-transition metals with their further transformation into various classes of organometallic compounds. Prof. Nesmeyanov had also developed a number of industrial chemistry processes, including production of pharmaceuticals, antiknock agents, and artificial black caviar. The later was the first commercial protein analogue product.
Prof. Nesmeyanov was the direction of the Institute of Organic Chemistry of USSR (1939–1954), the founder and the first director of the Institute of Organoelement Compounds (1954–1980). This institute and the nearby street were named after A. N. Nesmeyanov. His monument is placed in front of the institute.
