Naum Yakovlevich Vilenkin (, October 30, 1920 in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

– October 19, 1991 in Moscow) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

, an expert in

representation theory Representation theory is a branch of mathematics that studies abstract algebra, abstract algebraic structures by ''representing'' their element (set theory), elements as linear transformations of vector spaces, and studies Module (mathematics), ...

, the theory of

special functions Special functions are particular mathematical functions that have more or less established names and notations due to their importance in mathematical analysis, functional analysis, geometry, physics, or other applications. The term is defined by ...

functional analysis Functional analysis is a branch of mathematical analysis, the core of which is formed by the study of vector spaces endowed with some kind of limit-related structure (for example, Inner product space#Definition, inner product, Norm (mathematics ...

, and

combinatorics Combinatorics is an area of mathematics primarily concerned with counting, both as a means and as an end to obtaining results, and certain properties of finite structures. It is closely related to many other areas of mathematics and has many ...

. He is best known as the author of many books in

recreational Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or plea ...

mathematics aimed at middle and high school students.

Biography

Vilenkin studied at the

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

where he was a student of A.G. Kurosh. He received his degree of ''

doktor nauk A Doctor of Sciences, abbreviated д-р наук or д. н.; ; ; ; is a higher doctoral degree in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and many Commonwealth of Independent States countries. One of the prerequisites of receiving a Doctor of Science ...

'' in physics and mathematics in 1950; and was awarded the ''Ushinsky prize'' for his school mathematics textbooks in 1976. In 1975−1990 he assisted Lyudmila Georgievna Peterson in the development of a preschool and school curriculum for teaching mathematics.

Books

* ''Combinatorics'' by N.Ia. Vilenkin, A. Shenitzer, and S. Shenitzer (hardcover – Sep 1971) * ''Representation Theory and Noncommutative Harmonic Analysis'' II: ''Homogeneous Spaces, Representations, and Special Functions'' (''Encyclopaedia of Mathematical Sciences'') by A. U. Klimyk, V. F. Molchanov, N. Ya. Vilenkin, and

A. A. Kirillov Alexandre Aleksandrovich Kirilloff (, born 1936) is a Soviet and Russian mathematician, known for his works in the fields of representation theory, topological groups and Lie groups. In particular he introduced the orbit method into representa ...

(hardcover – Aug 26, 2004) * ''Representation of Lie Groups and Special Functions: Recent Advances'' (Mathematics and Its Applications) by N. Ja, Vilenkin and A. U. Klimyk (hardcover – Nov 1, 1994) * ''Representation of Lie Groups and Special Functions'' Volume 1: ''Simplest Lie Groups, Special Functions and Integral Transforms'' (Mathematics and its Applications) by N.Ia. Vilenkin and A. U. Klimyk (hardcover – Nov 15, 1991) * ''Generalized Functions''. Volume 5. ''Integral geometry and representation theory'' by I. M. Gel'fand, M. I. Graev, N. Ya. Vilenkin, and E. Saletan (hardcover – Oct 25, 1966) * ''Direct decompositions of topological groups'', I, II (American Mathematical Society. Translation) by N. Ia. Vilenkin (1950)

Books in recreational mathematics

* ''In Search of Infinity by N. Ya. Vilenkin'' (Hardcover – 1995) * ''Combinatorial mathematics for recreation'' by N. Ia. Vilenkin (1972) * ''Stories About Sets'' by N. Ia. Vilenkin (Paperback – 1968) * ''Successive approximation'', (Popular lectures in mathematics) by N. Ya. Vilenkin (1964)

References

* F. I. Karpelevich, A. U. Klimyk, L. M. Koganov, et al. "Naum Yakovlevich Vilenkin (on the occasion of his seventieth birthday)", ''Russian Math. Surveys'' 46 (1991), 251–254. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vilenkin, Naum Yakovlevich 1920 births 1991 deaths Soviet mathematicians Combinatorialists Mathematicians from Moscow