Last President of the USSR Academy of Sciences and pioneer of computational mathematics in Siberia
“Science is a single living organism, not a conglomerate of autonomous mechanisms. Unfortunately, neither the politicians nor the scientific community have the concept of saving domestic science.” — 17 December 1991
An applied mathematician who built the centre of computational mathematics in Siberia and rose to the pinnacle of Soviet science administration. He pioneered nuclear-reactor calculations, atmospheric and ocean modelling, and mathematical immunology, laying the foundations with splitting methods and adjoint-equation theory. In 1964 he founded the Computing Centre in Novosibirsk, the USSR's first large-scale numerical-modelling centre. As GKNT Chairman and Deputy Premier from 1980, then Academy President from 1986, he steered Soviet science through perestroika. He became the last President of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Career Timeline
- 1953–1962Head of Mathematics Dept, Physics Energy Institute, Obninsk
- 1964–1980Director, Computing Centre, Siberian Branch, USSR Acad. of Sciences
- 1975–1980Chairman, Siberian Branch & Vice-President, USSR Academy of Sciences
- 1980–1986Chairman, GKNT & Deputy Chairman, USSR Council of Ministers
- 1986–1991President, USSR Academy of Sciences
- 1991–2013Honorary Member, RAS Presidium; Dir./Honorary Dir., INM RAS
Related historical events
Pioneering Computational Mathematics: From Splitting Methods to Immune Models
Marchuk's scientific legacy centred on laying the foundations of computational mathematics as a modern discipline. His early work focused on developing numerical methods for nuclear reactor calculations. From 1953 at the Physics and Energy Institute in Obninsk, he immersed himself in the mathematical modelling of reactor physics, work that earned him the Lenin Prize in 1961.
His research took a decisive turn when he moved to Novosibirsk in 1964 to found the Computing Centre of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. There, together with Nikolai Yanenko, Marchuk developed the splitting method (метод расщепления, also known as the fractional steps method) for the numerical solution of equations in mathematical physics (1964–1965). By decomposing complex multidimensional problems into simpler sub-problems and solving them sequentially, the method dramatically improved computational efficiency across atmospheric and ocean modelling, neutron transport theory, and weather prediction. He went on to apply the splitting method to radiative transfer equations with Umirzak Sultangazin and proved its convergence in that context.
Another core contribution was his development of adjoint equation (сопряжённые уравнения) theory and perturbation algorithms. Marchuk systematised the role of adjoint equations in sensitivity analysis and optimisation of complex systems, providing powerful tools applicable to atmospheric pollution dispersion modelling, climate change scenario analysis, and nuclear facility safety assessment. This work was synthesised in his monograph Adjoint Equations and Analysis of Complex Systems (1992).
From the 1970s onward, Marchuk pioneered the entirely new field of mathematical immunology. His approach of modelling the human immune response as a system of differential equations made possible the numerical analysis of pathogen–antibody interaction dynamics, culminating in Mathematical Models in Immunology (1980, revised three times). This research is regarded as a trailblazing example of computational mathematics entering biomedicine.
Even as President of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1986–1991), Marchuk continued to foster international collaboration, co-chairing the Integrated Long-Term Programme (ILTP) of scientific cooperation between the USSR and India. Until his death he guided research as Honorary Director of the Institute of Numerical Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. His name is honoured by asteroid (9297) Marchuk and by the INM RAS, which now bears his name.