Lavrentiev Mikhail Alekseevich: biography, scientific works, achievements and interesting facts

Who is Mikhail Alexeevich Lavrentiev, what is known, in what years he lived and what he could achieve? In the scientific world, one would immediately be told that he is an outstanding mathematician and mechanic who devoted all his life to it, and also created many works, was engaged in teaching and public activities, and was proud of the fact that he lived in Russia.

Mikhail Alekseevich Lavrentiev: biography

In 1900 in Kazan was born the famous for the whole world mathematician Mikhail Lavrentiev. His father was a teacher of mathematics in a technical school. Then Alexey Lavrentyev became a professor of mechanics at the Kazan University, and then at Moscow State University.

Mikhail received a secondary education at the Kazan School, entered the State University in 1918, and two years later he transferred to the Moscow School of Physics and Mathematics, graduating in 1922. After graduation I decided to continue my education and stayed in graduate school for three years. Education completed the defense of the thesis and obtaining the degree of candidate of physical and mathematical sciences. After that, half a year was on a business trip in France and improved his knowledge, exchanging experience with foreign colleagues (Denjoy, Hadamard, Montel and others).

From 1948 to 1951, after Lavrentiev Mikhail Alekseevich returned to Moscow from Kiev, he became the head of the department of the Faculty of Physics and Technology at Moscow State University. Later we realized that this faculty had grown to an independent institute, where a scientist had invested a lot of energy and even opened a specialization in studying explosions in it.

The mathematician Lavrent'ev made a great contribution to the development of electronic computers. In 1948, the Institute of Precision Mechanics and Computer Science created the first computer models under the leadership of Lavrentiev for a short time.

Separately it is worth noting the academic activity of the academician in Novosibirsk, where, thanks to him and under his leadership, the Siberian branch of the Academy of Sciences was created, which he headed for almost 20 years, from 1957 to 1975. A little later the school of mathematics and mechanics was opened, where outstanding scientists were invited to work, among them were SK Godunov, IN Vekua, MM Lavrentiev, ST Vaskov and others.

He died in 1980, was buried in Novosibirsk at the Southern Cemetery.

Lavrentiev Mikhail Alekseevich: family

Mikhail Lavrentiev lived 79 years, in 1928 he married Dancakova Vera Evgenievna, who was a biologist, and together they lived for many years until the mathematician-scientist died in 1980. In their family, two children were born: the son of Mikhail, who became a mathematician, and daughter Vera, of whom little is known.

Teaching

At a fairly young age, the future scientist Mikhail Alekseevich Lavrentiev began his career as a teacher. While still studying at the university, he taught at the Moscow Technical School.

In 1927, when Mikhail returned from a business trip, he began teaching at Moscow State University, giving lectures on the theory of conformal mappings.

Since 1929 he began to manage the department at the Chemical Technology Institute, and in 1931 he became a professor at Moscow State University, without defending his thesis. He received his scientific degree on the basis of published scientific works, and a little later he was awarded a doctorate in technical sciences, and then a doctor of physical and mathematical sciences. In 1933 he became the head of the department at Moscow State University, having worked there until 1938.

Thanks to him, the Physico-Technical Institute was formed, which used to be just a faculty at Moscow State University. The Institute trained highly qualified specialists for the fields of science and technology, which were rapidly developing. The principle of work of this institute was transferred to the work of Novosibirsk State University, where the main task was to create a powerful human resource that will train future specialists.

Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR

In 1939, Mikhail Alekseevich Lavrentyev, at the invitation of the director Bogomoltsev, moved to Kiev and was appointed director of the Institute of Mathematics, and at the same time taught at the Physics and Mathematics Faculty at the State University. His work was interrupted during the war, when he was evacuated to Ufa, where he continued his activities.

In 1945 he returned to Kiev and continued his work until 1948, until he again moved to Moscow.

During the Great Patriotic War

Despite the fact that Mikhail Alekseevich Laurentiev was in the rear, and did not fight at the front, he was able to help his scientific work to win the war, trying to create a new weapon. His task as mathematics and mechanics was connected with military engineering, mainly with problems of a defensive nature.

Theory of explosions

Lavrentyev's great service during the war in the 1940s was the development of bombs weighing 1.5 kg with a large blast wave. So the stormtrooper could take on board up to 600 kg of bombs and with a few bombs burn the tanks through, which helped to destroy the enemy faster and determined the turning point on the Orel-Kursk arc.

The essence of the theory of explosions was that it was necessary to theoretically justify the amplification of the local effect of a charge on any obstacle, if there was a notch in it. Lavrentyev managed to explain the phenomenon, and he formulated a hydrodynamic interpretation.

The main works

A lot of time and attention Lavrentiev paid to the problems of explosions. In the 19th century, a cumulative effect was discovered (a shell with a special device, colliding with a barrier, forms a high-speed jet of powder gases and burns the obstacle). The scientist more deeply investigated this effect and considered that the main thing is the depth of penetration of the jet into the obstacle, from which the explosion will be more powerful, which was shown by the results of the study. Also much attention was paid to the theory of long waves, to equations of mixed type and to many other things in the field of mathematics, physics and mechanics.

It was important for the scientist not just to pass on his knowledge to the next generation, but also to create in them the desire to make his discoveries, so he spent so much time with schoolchildren and young people, Mikhail Alekseevich Laurentiev. The main works, which were awarded, should be listed separately:

• In 1962 he published a circulation "Variational method in boundary value problems".
• In 1965 there was published a publication on methods of the theory of functions of a complex variable.
• In 1980, a collection of articles on science and technical progress was published.
• Joint work with Keldysh "On the motion under the surface of a heavy liquid."

Awards and titles

Lavrentiev Mikhail Alekseevich for his life received many awards, including for his scientific work and achievements in mathematics and physics. In 1944, the scientist received the Order of the Patriotic War 2-degree, as much did in order to facilitate the process of conquering enemy territory.

In 1946 he was awarded the Stalin Prize for developing a method for solving nonlinear problems, in 1949 he was again awarded this prize, but for studying and studying in hydrodynamics.

He became an honorary citizen of Novosibirsk, as he founded Akademgorodok, and earned the highest award of France. Five times, Mikhail Alekseevich was awarded the Order of Lenin and four Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, once awarded the Lenin Prize, as well as the medal. Lomonosov for achievements in mathematics and mechanics, which is the highest award of the Russian Academy of Sciences and is awarded annually since 1959.

Social activities and influence on secondary education

Mikhail Alekseevich Lavrentiev always tried to cooperate with other foreign specialists, expanding and strengthening international relations. He organized symposiums more than once, he was a representative of the USSR delegation at various meetings and forums. And his authority in the international scientific world is confirmed by the fact that he was the head of the International Mathematical Union for eight years.

Thanks to his works, academic degrees and merits, Mikhail Alekseevich Laurentiev was able to contribute to the development of secondary education, and many schools, including Novosibirsk, began to hold olympiads and summer schools for future mathematicians and programmers. At NSU the first specialized school of the physical and mathematical direction was organized.

Memory

Mathematician Mikhail Alekseevich Lavrentiev was awarded several awards of the highest value, in addition, in his honor were named streets in Dolgoprudny and Kazan, the prospectus and the Institute of Hydrodynamics, the school at the State University in Novosibirsk. And also a research vessel and mountain peaks in the Pamirs and Altai.

In memory of the academician, a memorial plaque was erected on the institute building, and a monument was erected in Akademgorodok in Novosibirsk. It was created by the sculptor Paramonov, made of bronze and installed in 1988, although the city authorities considered the option unprofessional and refused to sign the permission to establish. But the monument was still made and installed, and the city authorities had to accept it.

Finally

Mikhail Lavrentyev was an outstanding mathematician who, from his youth, showed a love for exact sciences, including mechanics, physics and mathematics. At the age of 25 he received a prize for his work in mathematics, and at the age of 27 his article was published in the French journals of the Academy of Sciences, where he had been trained for six months.

At the age of 28, he was a member of the Soviet delegation at the International Mathematical Congress, and in 29 he became head of the department of mathematics.

All his life he devoted himself to the study of sciences, and his students became famous scientists throughout the world. He wrote more than 500 works, and in many ways they determined for several decades the course of the development of world science in such fascinations as mathematics and mechanics. But he did not dwell only on these sciences, he tried to understand natural phenomena, exploring large sea waves (tsunamis), the causes of fires, and sought ways to prevent pollution of rivers.

Someone thought that at one time the scientist Lavrentiev was sent to Novosibirsk for the sake of development of the region. But neither documented nor in the memories of acquaintances there were any such decrees. Without state support and a great desire to develop the eastern region, there would not be such a large scale and pace of construction of scientific towns, which are still today one of the main centers of science.