Rom Rubenovich Varshamov (Russian: Ром Рубенович Варшамов; Born April 9, 1927, in Tbilisi; Died August 24, 1999, in Moscow) was a Soviet Armenian mathematician who worked in

Coding theory Coding theory is the study of the properties of codes and their respective fitness for specific applications. Codes are used for data compression, cryptography, error detection and correction, data transmission and computer data storage, data sto ...

, especially on

error-correcting codes In computing, telecommunication, information theory, and coding theory, forward error correction (FEC) or channel coding is a technique used for controlling errors in data transmission over unreliable or noisy communication channels. The centra ...

and

Number theory Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic functions. Number theorists study prime numbers as well as the properties of mathematical objects constructed from integers (for example ...

. Varshamov studied in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

with Arnold Walfisz (where he was Georgian students’ champion in the 100 metres), as well as in

Tomsk Tomsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, on the Tom (river), Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. It has six univers ...

. After that, he was a researcher 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 ...

at the

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 ...

with

Ivan Matveyevich Vinogradov Ivan Matveevich Vinogradov ( rus, Ива́н Матве́евич Виногра́дов, p=ɪˈvan mɐtˈvʲejɪvʲɪtɕ vʲɪnɐˈɡradəf, a=Ru-Ivan_Matveyevich_Vinogradov.ogg; 14 September 1891 – 20 March 1983) was a Soviet mathematician ...

, especially on Number theory and Coding theory, and the Ministry of Radio Engineering (working in

Cryptography Cryptography, or cryptology (from "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or ''-logy, -logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of Adversary (cryptography), ...

). In 1957 he proved the Gilbert-Varshamov bound for

linear code In coding theory, a linear code is an error-correcting code for which any linear combination of Code word (communication), codewords is also a codeword. Linear codes are traditionally partitioned into block codes and convolutional codes, although t ...

s (independently of Edgar Gilbert who proved the non-linear part). From 1968 he worked in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

and was director of the Computer Centre (now Institute for Informatics and Automation Problems) of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR. He was author and co-author of more than 25 scientific articles and also a member of the

Armenian National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) (, ''Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan gitut’yunneri azgayin akademia'') is the Armenian national academy, functioning as the primary body that conducts research and coordinates activ ...

Selected bibliography

* Varshamov, R. R.: ''Estimate of the number of signals in error correcting codes'' (Russian), Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR 117, 739–741, 1957 :(English Translation in I. F. Blake: ''Algebraic Coding Theory: History and Development'', Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, 1973, pp 68–71) * Varshamov, R. R.: ''A class of codes for symmetric channels and a problem from the additive theory of numbers'', IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory 19, 92–95, 1973 * Varshamov, R. R.: ''On a method in the theory of reducibility of polynomials over a finite field'', Sov. Math., Dokl. 44, No.1, 194–199, 1992; translation from Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR 319, No.4, 787-791, 1991

References

External links

Varshamov on mathnet.ru

Article in Golos Armenii, April 10, 2007, electronic version No. 142 of 26.12.09
20th-century Armenian mathematicians 20th-century mathematicians from Georgia (country) Soviet mathematicians 1927 births 1999 deaths Scientists from Tbilisi Georgian people of Armenian descent Soviet Armenians {{mathematician-stub