In Memory of Colleague

 

 

Academician Valentin Vitalyevich Rumyantsev

 

 

 

 

 

On the 10-th of June 2007, on his 85th year of life, RAS Academician Valentin Vitalyevich Rumyantsev is dead.

V.V.Rumyantsev is an outstanding specialist in general mechanics. He developed the theory of motion stability of bodies with liquid containing cavities, the theory of partial stability; and attained some fundamental results in the areas of analytical mechanics and the rigid body dynamics. His results were vigorously implemented in the engineering applications of the problems of multibody dynamics, and before all, to particular rockets and satellites dynamics problems. During the last years, due to V.V.Rumyantsev, the scope of the applicability of the analytical mechanics methods was significantly widened, the theory of the generalized Poincare-Chetaev equations developed and a generalization of the variational principles for a system with unilateral constraints given.

Since 1965 and till his end Valentin Vitalyevich Rumyantsev worked in the A.A.Dorodnitsyn Computing Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences where he headed the division of mechanics for a long time. He nurtured a highly qualified team in the Theory of stability and the mechanics of the controlled systems sector.

As a Professor of the mechanical-mathematical Faculty of the Moscow State University, V.V.Rumyantsev taught a fundamental lecture set on Mechanics and a specialized lecture set on the motion stability theory and guided scientific Seminars. He was awarded the title of "Honourable MSU Professor" for his contributions to raising a new generation of scientists.

Aside from 200 articles he published 7 monographs which provided the basis for forming generations of scientists, now assuming key scientific roles. He created a scientific school of analytical mechanics and motion stability. More than 60 PhDs and 20 Doctors of Sciences were teached under his scientific supervision, and 10 Doctors of Sciences - during the last 5 years.

Since 1981 V.V.Rumyantsev was the Editor-in-Chief of the leading scientific journal "The Journal of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics". His knowledge and dedication played a significant role in forming the main directions in the evolvement of the journal thematics. Due to his efforts, this journal attained leading positions in the world among mechanics journals. From 1995 V.V.Rumyantsev was International Editorial Board Member of International Scientific bilingual Journal "Problems of nonlinear analysis in engineering systems" (PNAES), in the formation of that V.V.Rumyantsev, Head of Moscow Scientific Chetayev School of Stability and Mechanics, played an important part.

For his scientific results V.V.Rumyantsev was awarded the award of the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1950), The Chaplygin award of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1958), two state awards of the USSR (1980, 1996), the A.M. Lyapunov award of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences (2004). He was awarded with many more state awards and medals, as well.

Valentin Vitalyevich was markedly considerate and attentive to his coworkers and to his students and to all who communicated and worked with him. Light memory about him will for ever remain in hearts of his friends and colleagues.