Alexey Andreevich Lyapunov (russian: Алексе́й Андре́евич Ляпуно́в; 25 September 1911 – 23 June 1973) was a Soviet mathematician and an early pioneer of

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

. One of the founders of

Soviet cybernetics Cybernetics in the Soviet Union had its own particular characteristics, as the study of cybernetics came into contact with the dominant scientific ideologies of the Soviet Union and the nation's economic and political reforms: from the unmitigat ...

, Lyapunov was member of the

Soviet Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991, uniting the country's leading scientists, subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (until 1946 ...

and a specialist in the fields of real function theory, mathematical problems of

cybernetics Cybernetics is a wide-ranging field concerned with circular causality, such as feedback, in regulatory and purposive systems. Cybernetics is named after an example of circular causal feedback, that of steering a ship, where the helmsperson ma ...

set theory Set theory is the branch of mathematical logic that studies sets, which can be informally described as collections of objects. Although objects of any kind can be collected into a set, set theory, as a branch of mathematics, is mostly concern ...

, programming theory,

mathematical linguistics Computational linguistics is an interdisciplinary field concerned with the computational modelling of natural language, as well as the study of appropriate computational approaches to linguistic questions. In general, computational linguistics ...

, and

mathematical biology Mathematical and theoretical biology, or biomathematics, is a branch of biology which employs theoretical analysis, mathematical models and abstractions of the living organisms to investigate the principles that govern the structure, development a ...

Biography

Composer Sergei Lyapunov, mathematician Aleksandr Lyapunov, and philologist Boris Lyapunov were close relatives of Alexey Lyapunov. In 1928, Lyapunov enrolled at Moscow State University to study mathematics, and in 1932 he became a student of Nikolai Luzin. Under his mentorship, Lyapunov began his research in

descriptive set theory In mathematical logic, descriptive set theory (DST) is the study of certain classes of " well-behaved" subsets of the real line and other Polish spaces. As well as being one of the primary areas of research in set theory, it has applications to ot ...

. He became world-wide known for his theorem on the range of an atomless vector-measure in finite dimensions, now called the Lyapunov Convexity Theorem. From 1934 until the early 1950s, Lyapunov was on the staff of the

Steklov Institute of Mathematics Steklov Institute of Mathematics or Steklov Mathematical Institute (russian: Математический институт имени В.А.Стеклова) is a premier research institute based in Moscow, specialized in mathematics, and a part ...

. When

Mstislav Keldysh Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh (russian: Мстисла́в Все́володович Ке́лдыш; – 24 June 1978) was a Soviet mathematician who worked as an engineer in the Soviet space program. He was the academician of the Academy ...

organized the Department of Applied Mathematics (now the M.V. Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics) he suggested Lyapunov to lead its work on programming. In 1954 A.A. Lyapunov was invited by A.I. Kitov (scientific director of the Computing Center No. 1 of the USSR Ministry of Defense) to this computing center as head of the laboratory. A.A. Lyapunov worked at this military computing center until 1960. In 1961, Lyapunov moved to the Institute of Mathematics of the Siberian Division of the USSR Academy of Sciences (now the Sobolev Institute of Mathematics), where he founded the department of cybernetics. At

Novosibirsk State University Novosibirsk State University is a public research university located in Novosibirsk, Russia. The university was founded in 1958, on the principles of integration of education and science, early involvement of students with research activities an ...

, he founded the Department of Theoretical Cybernetics and the Laboratory of Cybernetics at the Institute of Hydrodynamics of the Siberian Division of the USSR Academy of Sciences (now the Lavrentiev Institute of Hydrodynamics) which he led until the end of his life. In 1964, Lyapunov was elected a member of the USSR Academy of Sciences and joined the Division of Mathematics. He was awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

. In 1996, he was awarded the IEEE Computer Society's Computer Pioneer Award.

References

Biography of Lyapunov

External links

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A. A. Lyapunov (on his 60th birthday)

S. Kutateladze "Lyapunov's convexity theorem, zonoids, and bang-bang"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyapunov, Alexey Soviet mathematicians 1911 births 1973 deaths Novosibirsk State University academic personnel Soviet cyberneticists Alexey Moscow State University alumni Scientists from Moscow