Aleksandr Danilovich Aleksandrov - Scientific Career

Scientific Career

Aleksandrov graduated from the Department of Physics of Leningrad State University. His advisors there were Vladimir Fok, a physicist, and Boris Delaunay, a mathematician. In 1933 Aleksandrov worked at the State Optical Institute (GOI) and at the same time gave lectures at the Department of Mathematics and Mechanics of the University. He completed his Ph.D. in 1935 at the University and later in 1937 — a D.Sc. dissertation. He became a professor at the University, while also working at LOMI, the Leningrad Department of the Steklov Mathematical Institute (now PDMI, Petersburg Department of the Mathematical Institute). In 1951 he became a member of Communist Party. Appointed the rector of the university in 1952, Aleksandrov remained in this position until 1964. In 1946 he became a corresponding member, and in 1964 — a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Since 1975 he was also a member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.

Aleksandr Aleksandrov should not be confused with Pavel Alexandrov, another mathematician at the Steklov Institute.

Since 1964 and until 1986 Aleksandrov lived in Novosibirsk, heading the Laboratory of Geometry of the Institute of Mathematics of the Siberian Division of the USSR Academy of Sciences, teaching at Novosibirsk State University. In 1986 he returned to Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), to head the geometry laboratory at LOMI.