Alexander Mikhailovich Obukhov (russian: Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Обу́хов) (5 May 1918 – 3 December 1989) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

and applied mathematician known for his contributions to statistical theory of

turbulence In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity. It is in contrast to a laminar flow, which occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption between ...

and

atmospheric physics Within the atmospheric sciences, atmospheric physics is the application of physics to the study of the atmosphere. Atmospheric physicists attempt to model Earth's atmosphere and the atmospheres of the other planets using fluid flow equations, che ...

. He was one of the founders of modern boundary layer

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

. He served as the Head of the theoretical department at

Sternberg Astronomical Institute The Sternberg Astronomical Institute (Государственный астрономический институт имени Штернберга in Russian), also known as GAISh (ГАИШ), is a research institution in Moscow, Russia, a divisi ...

, a division of

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

. Obukhov's 1946 fundamental paper on a universal length scale for exchange processes in the surface layer was the basis for the derivation of the Monin–Obukhov similarity theory in 1954. The Monin–Obukhov similarity theory and the Monin–Obukhov Length are named after him and Russian Academician

Andrei Monin Andrei Sergeevich Monin (russian: Андре́й Серге́евич Мо́нин; 2 July 1921 – 22 September 2007) was a Russian physicist, applied mathematician, and oceanographer. Monin was known for his contributions to statistical theory of ...

Early life and education

Obukhov was born on 5 May 1918 in

Saratov Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901,36 ...

, a city situated in the Volga's

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

. He finished high school in 1934 but could not write the entrance examination of Saratov University because he was too young. Therefore, he spent a year at Saratov Meteorological Observatory. Obukhov wrote and published his first paper in 1939. It was based on the work he had done at Saratov Meteorological Observatory. In 1935 Obukhov joined Saratov University where he studied mathematics and science. Obhukhov did his Ph.D. at the

, under the supervision of

Andrey Kolmogorov Andrey Nikolaevich Kolmogorov ( rus, Андре́й Никола́евич Колмого́ров, p=ɐnˈdrʲej nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ kəlmɐˈɡorəf, a=Ru-Andrey Nikolaevich Kolmogorov.ogg, 25 April 1903 – 20 October 1987) was a Sovi ...

References

* P.A. Davidson, Y. Kaneda, K. Moffatt, and

K.R. Sreenivasan Katepalli Raju Sreenivasan is an aerospace scientist, fluid dynamics, and applied physicist whose research includes physics and applied mathematics. He studies turbulence, nonlinear and statistical physics, astrophysical fluid mechanics, and cr ...

(eds, 2011). ''A Voyage Through Turbulence'', pp 215–21,

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

External links

*
Obukhov Aleksandr Mikhailovich
at the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obukhov, Alexander 1918 births 1989 deaths Soviet physicists Moscow State University alumni Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Russian meteorologists Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery Soviet meteorologists