Nikolai N. SAMUS was born on December 8, 1949 in Kiev. In 1973, he graduated from the Dept. of Astronomy, Faculty of Physics, Moscow University (M.Sci.). PhD since 1977 (supervisor Prof. B.V. Kukarkin), D.Sci. since 1996; both dissertations were devoted to studies of globular star clusters. In 1976 - 1981, he was an assistant professor at the Chair of Galactic Astronomy and Astrometry, Moscow University. Joined Astronomical Council/INASAN in 1981. At present, he is a Leading researcher at the Department of Non-Stationary Stars and Stellar Spectroscopy, heading the group of the General Catalogue of Variable Stars.
Catalogues of variable stars are being compiled in USSR/Russia since 1946 on behalf of the International Astronomical Union. Since then, four editions of the General Catalogue of Variable Stars (GCVS) and several catalogues of suspected variable stars (the most recent one, 1981) have appeared. P.P. Parenago, B.V. Kukarkin, P.N. Kholopov leaded the team of variable star catalogue compilers at Astronomical Council/INASAN and at Sternberg Institute through years. After P.N. Kholopov's decease in 1988, Dr. Samus becomes the leader of this team in both institutes. In the five-volume 4th GCVS edition (1985 - 1995), Dr. Samus is the editor of Volumes IV and V. Volume V presents, for the first time, a catalogue of variable stars in external galaxies. INTERNET access to variable star catalogues exists through Sternberg Institute; an experimental searchable access system to the GCVS has been arranged at Sternberg Institute.
Since 1992, Dr. Samus is also a staff member of the Isaac Newton Institute Moscow Branch, a unit of the Isaac Newton Institute (Santiago, Chile; Director: G. Alcaino) engaged in globular cluster studies.
Dr. Samus is an active observing astronomer. In the recent years, he is mainly observing Cepheid radial velocities using the correlational spectrometer designed by A.A. Tokovinin; two large catalogues were published as a result of these observations.
Hobbies: foreign languages, travelling, mushroom picking.