Mikhail Lavrentyev

Mikhail Lavrentyev
Mikhail A. Lavrentyev
Born	(1900-11-19)November 19, 1900 Kazan, Russian Empire
Died	October 15, 1980(1980-10-15) (aged 79) Moscow, Soviet Union
Nationality	Soviet
Fields	Mathematics
Institutions	Moscow State University Steklov Institute of Mathematics
Alma mater	Moscow State University
Doctoral advisor	Nikolai Luzin
Doctoral students	Pavel Belinskii Mstislav Keldysh Aleksei Markushevich Naum Landkof Lev Volkovyskii
Notable awards	Lomonosov Gold Medal (1977)

Mikhail Alekseevich Lavrentyev or Lavrentiev (Russian: Михаи́л Алексе́евич Лавре́нтьев) (November 19, 1900 – October 15, 1980) was a Soviet mathematician and hydrodynamicist.

Lavrentiev was born in Kazan, where his father was an instructor at a college (he later became a professor at Kazan University, then Moscow University).

Lavrentiev entered Kazan University, and, when his family moved to Moscow in 1921, he transferred to the Department of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University. He graduated in 1922. He continued his studies in the university in 1923-26 as a graduate student of Nikolai Luzin.

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

In 1927 Lavrentiev 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 mappings and partial differential equations. Mstislav Keldysh was one of his students.

One of Lavrentiev's scientific interests was the physics of explosive processes, in which he had become involved when doing defense work during World War II. 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 in Kazakhstan.