Mikhail Alekseyevich Lavrentyev (or Lavrentiev, ; November 19, 1900 – October 15, 1980) 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 ...

and hydrodynamicist.

Early years

Lavrentyev was born in

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

, where his father was an instructor at a college (he later became a professor at Kazan University, then

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

). He entered Kazan University, and, when his family moved to Moscow in 1921, he transferred to the Department of Physics and Mathematics of

. He graduated in 1922. He continued his studies in the university in 1923-26 as a graduate student of

Nikolai Luzin Nikolai Nikolayevich Luzin (also spelled Lusin; rus, Никола́й Никола́евич Лу́зин, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ ˈluzʲɪn, a=Ru-Nikilai Nikilayevich Luzin.ogg; 9 December 1883 – 28 February 1950) was a Sov ...

. Although Luzin was alleged to plagiarize in science and indulge in anti-Sovietism by some of his students in 1936, Lavrentyev did not participate in the notorious political persecution of his teacher which is known as the Luzin case or Luzin affair. In fact Luzin was a friend of his father.

Mid career

In 1927, Lavrentyev spent half a year in France, collaborating with French mathematicians, and upon returned took up a position with Moscow University. Later he became a member of the staff of the Steklov Institute. His main contributions relate to

conformal map In mathematics, a conformal map is a function (mathematics), function that locally preserves angles, but not necessarily lengths. More formally, let U and V be open subsets of \mathbb^n. A function f:U\to V is called conformal (or angle-prese ...

pings and

partial differential equations In mathematics, a partial differential equation (PDE) is an equation which involves a multivariable function and one or more of its partial derivatives. The function is often thought of as an "unknown" that solves the equation, similar to how ...

Mstislav Keldysh Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh (; – 24 June 1978) was a Soviet mathematician who worked as an engineer in the Soviet space program. He was the academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union (1946), President of the Academy of Sc ...

was one of his students. In 1939, Oleksandr Bogomolets, the president of the

Ukrainian Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU; , ; ''NAN Ukrainy'') is a self-governing state-funded organization in Ukraine that is the main center of development of Science and technology in Ukraine, science and technology by coordinatin ...

, asked Lavrentyev to become director of the Institute of Mathematics at

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. One of Lavrentyev's scientific interests was the physics of

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ex ...

processes, in which he had become involved when doing defense work during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A better understanding of the physics of explosions made it possible to use controlled explosions in construction, the best-known example being the construction of the Medeu Mudflow Control Dam outside of

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

In Siberia

Mikhail Lavrentyev was one of the main organizers and the first Chairman of the

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

n Division of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

(in his time the

Academy of Sciences of the USSR The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (u ...

) from its founding in 1957 to 1975. The foundation of the Siberia's "Academic Town"

Akademgorodok Akademgorodok ( rus, Академгородок, p=ɐkəˌdʲemɡərɐˈdok, "Academic Town") is a part of the Sovetsky City District, Novosibirsk, Sovetsky District of the city of Novosibirsk, Russia, located south of the city center and abou ...

(now a district of

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...

) remains his most widely known achievement. Six months after the decision to found the Siberian Division of the USSR Academy of Sciences Novosibirsk State University was established. The Decree of the

Council of Ministers of the USSR The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Совет министров СССР, r=Sovet Ministrov SSSR, p=sɐˈvʲet mʲɪˈnʲistrəf ˌɛsˌɛsˌɛsˈɛr), sometimes abbreviated as Sovmin or referred to as the ...

was signed January 9, 1958. From 1959 to 1966 he was a professor at Novosibirsk State University. Lavrentyev was also a founder of the Institute of Hydrodynamics of the Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences which since 1980 has been named after Lavrentyev. Lavrentyev was awarded the honorary title of

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

, a

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

and 2 Stalin Prizes, and a

Lomonosov Gold Medal The Lomonosov Gold Medal ( ''Bol'shaya zolotaya medal' imeni M. V. Lomonosova''), named after Russian scientist and polymath Mikhail Lomonosov, is awarded each year since 1959 for outstanding achievements in the natural sciences and the humaniti ...

. He was elected a member of several world-renowned academies, and an honorable citizen of

. Mikhail A. Lavrentyev's son, also named Mikhail (Mikhail M. Lavrentyev, 1930-2010), also became a mathematician and was a member of the leadership of Akademgorodok.Fortune April 2, 2007 p.36

Eponyms

Street A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...

in Dolgoprudny * Academician Lavrentyev Avenue in

* Lavrentyev Institute of Hydrodynamics in Novosibirsk * SESC affiliated with NSU * Novosibirsk Lavrentyev Lyceum 130 * RV Akademik Lavrentyev *Aiguilles in Altai and Pamir

References

External links

* *
Mikhail Lavrentiev's biography
at the site of Lavrentiev Hydrodynamics Institute. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lavrentyev, Mikhail Alekseevich 1900 births 1980 deaths Mathematicians from Kazan Academic staff of Bauman Moscow State Technical University Academic staff of the D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia Academic staff of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology Academic staff of Moscow State University Academic staff of Novosibirsk State University Academic staff of the Steklov Institute of Mathematics Academic staff of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute employees Foreign members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Members of the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Members of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Moscow State University alumni NASU Institute of Mathematics Candidates of the Central Committee of the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Candidates of the Central Committee of the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Candidates of the Central Committee of the 24th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Second convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Fifth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Sixth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Seventh convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Eighth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Ninth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Lenin Prize Commanders of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Lomonosov Gold Medal Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the October Revolution Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Soviet mathematicians Soviet physicists Lavrentyev Russian scientists