Dr.Sci.(engineering), professor, academician, the winner of awards of the Council of Ministers of the USSR for 1982 and 1990, the winner of the award of the Government of the Russian Federation in the field of science and technology for 1997, Director of the Mining institute of the KSC since 1981, a member of Bureau of the Department of geology, geophysics, geochemistry and mining sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a member of the Committee of the system analysis of the Russian Academy of Sciences, deputy chairman of the Scientific council of the Russian Academy of Sciences for use of underground space and underground construction (chairman of the scientific council for the direction "Underground nuclear power plants"), chairman of Specialized dissertational council K.003.79.01, head of mining chair of MSTU. Born in 1938. Education: MMI, 1960, a mining engineer (development of mineral deposits).       Director of the Mining institute of the Kola science centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dr.Sci.(engineering), professor, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, he won twice the award of Ministerial council of the USSR (1982 and 1989) and the award of the Government of the Russian Federation (1997).

       N.N.Melnikov's scientific and scientific-organizational activity is closely connected with mining sciences - development of a mineral raw materials resources and use of underground space of the country, among other things for facilities of nuclear power industry and as a repository for radioactive waste.
      After his graduation from the Moscow Mining institute as a specialist of "development of mineral deposits" in 1960, he worked till 1962 as the head of main stripping operations at the Sokolovsky mining administration of Sokolovsko-Sarbaysky mining and concentration integrated works. Since 1963 till present time N.N.Melnikov has been engaged in the scientific and scientific- organizational activity. His scientific-engineering work during the period from 1963 to 1971 has been connected with the State institute for designing of nonferrous metallurgy enterprises (Giprotsvetmet) of Ministry of Nonferrous metals and the A.A.Skochinsky Institute of mining of the Ministry of coal-mining industry of the USSR.
      N.N.Melnikov spent two years (1971-73) in official trip on behalf of AS of the USSR in Calgary (Canada) where he worked as a researcher of the Western consecutive centre of Department of mining, resources and power engineering of Canada. In 1973-79 N.N.Melnikov worked in A.A.Skochinsky Institute of Mining as a senior researcher and head of laboratory. In 1979-80 he was the first deputy director of All-Union research and design institute of mining of nonferrous metallurgy (VNIPIGortsvetmet) of the Department of non-ferrous metallurgy of the USSR (Mintsvetmet).
      In 1965 N.N.Melnikov defended his PhD thesis, and doctor thesis in 1974, "Methods of selection of draglines parameters and technology of their new application in open-cast mining". In 1977 he was given the academic status of professor.
      The basic results of his studies at this stage develop the mining sciences in the field of the theory of open-pit mining of mineral deposits and mechanization of mining operations in open-cast mines, the theory of designing of mining companies, areas and basins, program-target planning of mining industry based on the system analysis. N.N.Melnikov is a supervisor and executor of research in modernization of coal deposits and iron ore open-pit mines of the USSR. He has created a constructive-technological method of parameters calculation of mining excavation equipment and on its basis he has developed a technical assignment for the manufacture of new excavators of considerable unit capacity (15 models with capacity of buckets varying from 12 to 100 m3). Under his scientific direction a number of walking draglines and powerful hydraulic mine excavators have been developed. N.N.Melnikov's works have contributed in the formulation and development of a new scientific direction connected with designing of powerful hydraulic mine excavators. He has solved a number of scientific problems, which resulted in the manufacture of hydraulic excavators with buckets of 12 and 20 m3 – some of the most powerful in the world. He has developed theoretical bases of a new process of overburden stock-piling, technology and tools of mechanization of works (walking draglines for conditions of Kuznetsk, Ekibastuz coal basins). He took an active creative participation in considerable predictive works of the Academy of sciences of the USSR carried out together with the industry, in the development and re-equipment of mining sector of the national economy by 1990 and 2000. He is one of the specialists who substantiated the construction of one of the largest Krasnoyarsk plant of heavy excavators. He personally participated in studies and substantiation of the construction and development of Kansko-Achinsky fuel and energy and South Yakutsky coal complexes which resulted in the creation of scientific bases of construction and technology of mining operations at enterprises with annual production capacity up to 50-60 million tons. N.N.Melnikov created scientific bases of cyclic- progressive operations for the deposits of Kansko-Achinsky field, a number of new technologies - a modified scheme "excavator-open-pit mine", application of self-propelled screening units. In the nonferrous metallurgy sector he managed the operations of program importance aimed at the enhancement of scientific and technical level of mineral raw materials mining.
      Since 1980 N.N.Melnikov has been director of the Mining institute of the Kola science centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Under the leadership of N.N.Melnikov the Mining institute of the Kola science centre has considerably grown in terms of science and scientific-organization, and has become a leading institute in a number of directions of mining sciences; during this time at the institute 18 doctors of sciences have been prepared and the first ever in the history of the Kola science centre and other scientific centers of Northwest Russia Academic Dissertation Board. More than 20 applicants for a scientific degree of candidate (Ph.D) and doctor of sciences have defended their theses under his tutorage.
      In December, 1990, N.N.Melnikov was elected a corresponding-member of the AS of the USSR in "mining sciences". In 1997 N.N.Melnikov was elected an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences N.N.Melnikov is a leading expert in the field of mining sciences, the author of 229 scientific papers, including 13 monographs, 34 inventions and 19 papers published abroad. His studies deal with the development of mining sciences in the field of creation of new machinery and technology, they are devoted to the substantiation of effective directions of development of the mineral-raw-material base of the country, parameters of mining enterprises and to their modernization. N.N.Melnikov is one of the founders of a scientific direction in the use of underground space of the country for the purpose of solution of problems of complex development of subsoil, nuclear power sector and underground disposal of radioactive waste.
      N.N.Melnikov actively participates in large Government programs of development and modernization of the mining sector; he is one of the authors of scientific substantiation of the construction of the largest Krasnoyarsk plant of heavy excavators, high-efficiency mining enterprises in Kansko-Achinsky and South Yakutsky coal-fields, of a number of powerful open-pit and walking excavators.
      In his studies N.N.Melnikov made a broad use of modern methods of research; he became an initiator, head and organizer of the research in a new important scientific direction - the system analysis of mining complexes; he established at the institute the first in the AS of the USSR specialized laboratory of this type.
      On the basis of N.N.Melnikov’s proposal about the economic use of underground space a new direction - "Underground nuclear power plants" was approved in the State scientific and technical program "Ecologically clean power industry". N.N.Melnikov is a deputy chairman of the section of Scientific council of the program and carries out the scientific management of research and designing of underground nuclear complexes. We should also note, that N.N.Melnikov directly manages the carrying out of large-scale directive studies for the defense sector of Russia in the field of special underground construction.
      N.N.Melnikov has contributed for the Russian Academy of Sciences and organizations of the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation into implementation of four large projects under the "TACIS" program of the European Union, he is a leader in a number of international projects dealing with underground construction, underground nuclear power industry, radioactive waste disposal and mining operations in extraterrestrial conditions with the USA, Germany, Norway which was also promoted by his two-year operation experience at the Federal Research Mining centre of Canada.
      N.N.Melnikov participated in liquidation of consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, he suggested a concept and managed the development of a long-term repository of the emergency power unit 4, which was ranked first at the International competition among participants from CIS countries.
      N.N.Melnikov is engaged in considerable scientific-organizational work, being a member of the bureau of the Department of geology, geophysics, geochemistry and mining sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Scientific council of the Russian Academy of Sciences on the problems of mining sciences, a member of the Organizing committee of the International congress on mining in the Arctic regions and the Council of the International symposium about mining mechanization and automation, chairman of the Specialized council K 003.79.01 on defense of theses.
      He was an elector-founder of the Russian Academy of Sciences of the first composition of 1991, was a member of the board of experts of the Section of the Earth sciences at those elections.
      He is the author of 230 scientific papers, including 13 monographs, 34 inventions, 19 foreign publications. He has been awarded an Order of Honour (1999), certificates of honour of the Presidium of AS of the USSR and the Russian Academy of Sciences.
      Scientific interests:
      Underground construction, including facilities of the nuclear power industry; an underground repository of radioactive waste; the system analysis of the mining practice; open-cut mining operations.
      Basic publications:
1. Scientific and technical progress at the mining enterprises of the Polar region / N.N.Melnikov, P.A.Usachev, Yu.V.Demidov, etc. - L: Nauka, 1988.240 p.
2. Melnikov N.N., Konukhin V. P, Naumov V. A. Underground nuclear power plants. - Apatity: Publishing house of the KSC of Russian Academy of Sciences, 1991.-136 p.
3. The system analysis of the development of mining enterprises (problems of theory and methodology) / N.N.Chaplygin, N.N.Melnikov, G.I.Bliznyuk, etc. - L: Nauka, 1991. 184 p.
4. Melnikov N.N., Nevolin D.G., Skobelev D.S. The technology of applications and parameters of mine hydraulic excavators. - Apatity: the KSC of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 1992. 210 p.
5. Open mining operations: A reference book /K.N.Trubetskoy, M.G.Potapov, N.N.Melnikov, et al. M.: the Mining bureau, 1994,-590 p.
6. Melnikov N.N., Konukhin V. P, Komlev V. N. Materials on the basis of mineral and technogenic raw materials in engineering barriers for isolation of radioactive waste.-Apatity: Publishing house of the KSC of Russian Academy of Sciences, 1998. - 94 p.
7. Mica deposits of the Murmansk region: the reality and development possibilities / N.N.Melnikov, V.M.Busyrev, A.S.Gershenkop, et al. - Apatity: Publishing house of the KSC of Russian Academy of Sciences,, 1998. - 189 p.
8. Status of the Disposal Project for LOW - and Intermediate - Level Waste in the North-Western Russia, Proc. "Waste Management-99", Internat. conf. in Tucson, USA,-Rotterdam: Balkema, 1999.
9. Ways of stabilization and development of the mining complex of the Murmansk region /N.N.Melnikov, A.D.Maslov, A.I.Kalashnik, et al.//Problems of development of mineral-source of raw materials of the Kola peninsula and the use of underground space as a waste repository. - Apatity: Publishing house of the KSC of Russian Academy of Sciences, 1999.- p.153-160.
10. N.N. Melnikov Aspects of stability of the mining complex of the country//Development of new scientific directions and technologies of the Earth subsoil mining: Materials of the anniversary session of the Department of geology, geophysics, geochemistry and mining sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, November, 24-25, 1999 - M.: A.A.Skochinsky Institute of Mining, 2000.- p.23-46.