Mikhail Il'ich Zelikin (; born 11 February 1936) is a Russian mathematician, who works on differential equations (in particular,

Riccati equation In mathematics, a Riccati equation in the narrowest sense is any first-order ordinary differential equation that is quadratic in the unknown function. In other words, it is an equation of the form y'(x) = q_0(x) + q_1(x) \, y(x) + q_2(x) \, y^2( ...

s),

optimal control theory Mathematical optimization (alternatively spelled ''optimisation'') or mathematical programming is the selection of a best element, with regard to some criteria, from some set of available alternatives. It is generally divided into two subfiel ...

differential game In game theory, differential games are dynamic games that unfold in continuous time, meaning players’ actions and outcomes evolve smoothly rather than in discrete steps, and for which the rate of change of each state variable—like position, spe ...

s (for instance,

Princess and monster game A princess and monster game is a pursuit–evasion game played by two players in a region. Formal definition In his book ''Differential Games'' (1965), Rufus Isaacs defined the game as: This game remained a well-known open problem until it ...

), the theory of fields of extremals for

multiple integral In mathematics (specifically multivariable calculus), a multiple integral is a definite integral of a function of several real variables, for instance, or . Integrals of a function of two variables over a region in \mathbb^2 (the real-number ...

s, the geometry of

Grassmannian In mathematics, the Grassmannian \mathbf_k(V) (named in honour of Hermann Grassmann) is a differentiable manifold that parameterizes the set of all k-dimension (vector space), dimensional linear subspaces of an n-dimensional vector space V over a ...

s. He proposed an explanation of

ball lightning Ball lightning is a rare and unexplained phenomenon described as Luminosity, luminescent, spherical objects that vary from pea-sized to several meters in diameter. Though usually associated with thunderstorms, the observed phenomenon is repor ...

based on the hypothesis of plasma

superconductivity Superconductivity is a set of physical properties observed in superconductors: materials where Electrical resistance and conductance, electrical resistance vanishes and Magnetic field, magnetic fields are expelled from the material. Unlike an ord ...

Biography

M. I. Zelikin was born 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 ...

in 1936. He attended

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 ...

( Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics) in 1953. After graduating from the university in 1958, he works there and in

Steklov Institute of Mathematics Steklov Institute of Mathematics or Steklov Mathematical Institute () is a premier research institute based in Moscow, specialized in mathematics, and a part of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The institute is named after Vladimir Andreevich Stek ...

. He got his Ph.D. under the supervision of Lev S. Pontryagin. M. I. Zelikin was awarded the Chebyshev Award in 1987 and the Lyapunov Award in 2010. He was elected a corresponding member 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 2011. Apart from mathematics, M. I. Zelikin is also known due to his activity in ecology, in particular, criticism of the

Northern river reversal The Northern river reversal or Siberian river reversal was an ambitious project to divert the flow of the Northern rivers in the Soviet Union, which "uselessly" drain into the Arctic Ocean, southwards towards the populated agricultural areas of C ...

. He wrote and published a book of memoirs «History of Evergreen Life» (, — Moscow, 2001) about it.

Selected monographs

* ''Zelikin, M. I.; Borisov, V. F.'' Theory of chattering control. With applications to astronautics, robotics, economics, and engineering. Systems & Control: Foundations & Applications. Birkhäuser Boston, Inc., Boston, MA, 1994. xvi+242 pp. . * ''Zelikin, M. I.'' Control theory and optimization. I. Homogeneous spaces and the Riccati equation in the calculus of variations. Encyclopaedia of Mathematical Sciences, 86. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2000. xii+284 pp. . * ''Zelikin, M. I.'' Optimal control and variational calculus.

Editorial URSS Editorial URSS is a Russian scientific literature publishing house (textbooks, monographs, journals, proceedings of Russian institutes and universities, etc.). Since 1995, Editorial URSS has issued more than 9000 items in Russian, Spanish, and E ...

, Moscow, 2004 (in Russian) & 2010 (in Spanish).

References

*
All-Russian Mathematical Portal
(in Russian)
Webpage on the site of Russian Academy of Sciences
(in Russian).

Notes

20th-century Russian mathematicians Soviet mathematicians Moscow State University alumni Corresponding Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences 1936 births Living people {{Russia-mathematician-stub