Mikhail Alekseevich Lavrentiev and Fluid Dynamics. On the 125th anniversary of his birth

Abstract

The purpose of the present paper is to advertise and illuminate the applied research of Mikhail Alekseyevich Lavrentiev, a distinguished scientist who generated new ideas and obtained many outstanding results in mechanics and mathematics. He also initiated and maintained numerous flourishing activities in mechanics and applied mathematics in the former Soviet Union. He was notably an outstanding researcher in pure and applied mathematics as well as in engineering. On the applied side, his research spanned fluid dynamics, explosion physics, mechanics, technology, and several branches of engineering. It was always aimed at the practical challenges of his time and achieved impressive successes. It has been fascinating to uncover all of this. Much of his biographical material and a review of his activities in pure mathematics have been published, but no review of his applied achievements is available. This paper aims to give Lavrentiev's applied research the recognition it deserves in the communities of fluid dynamics, applied mathematics, engineering, and the history of science.