Boris Galerkin

Boris Grigoryevich Galerkin (Russian: Бори́с Григо́рьевич Галёркин, surname more accurately romanized as Galyorkin; March 4 [O.S. February 20, 1871] 1871 – July 12, 1945), born in Polozk, Belarus, was a mathematician and an engineer. Languages can be romanized in a variety of ways, as shown here with Mandarin Chinese In linguistics, romanization (or Latinization, also spelled romanisation or Latinisation) is the representation of a word or language with the Roman (Latin) alphabet, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language... is the 63rd day of the year (64th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Old Style redirects here. ... is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1871 (MDCCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1871 (MDCCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... is the 193rd day of the year (194th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Polatsk (Belarusian: , Polish: , Russian: ) is the most historic city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina river. ... Leonhard Euler, considered one of the greatest mathematicians of all time A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and research is the field of mathematics. ... Look up engineer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Biography

Early days

Galerkin was born on March 4 [O.S. February 20, 1871] 1871 in Polotsk, Russia, now part of Belarus. His parents owned a house in the town, but the homecraft they made did not bring enough money, so at the age of 12, Boris started working as calligrapher in the court. He had finished school in Polotsk, but still needed the exams from an additional year which granted him the right to continue education at a higher level. He passed those in Minsk in 1893, as an external student. The same year he was enrolled at the St. Petersburg Technological Institute, at the mechanics department. Due to the lack of funds Boris Grigoryevich had to combine studying at the institute with working as a draftsman and giving private lessons. is the 63rd day of the year (64th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Old Style redirects here. ... is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1871 (MDCCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1871 (MDCCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Polatsk (Belarusian: По́лацак, По́лацк; Polish: Połock, also spelt as Polacak; Russian: По́лоцк, also transliterated as Polotsk, Polotzk, Polock) is the most historic city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina river. ... Calligraphy (from Greek καλλι calli beauty + γραφος graphos writing) is the art of decorative writing. ... Location of Minsk, shown within the Minsk Voblast Coordinates: Country Subdivision Belarus Minsk Founded 1067 Government  - Mayor Mikhail Pavlov Area  - City 305. ...

Boris Galerkin

Political activities and imprisonment

Like many other students/technologists, he was involved in political activities, and joined the social-democratic group. In 1899, the year of graduating from the institute, he became a member of the Russian Social-Democratic Party (future Communist Party). This provides a plausible explanation for his frequent job changes. The first three years after graduation Boris Grigoryevich was an engineer at the Russian Mechanical and Steam-locomotive Union factory in Kharkov, while simultaneously teaching workers at special courses. From the end of 1903 he was an engineer on the construction of the China Far East Railway, half a year later he became the technical head at the 'North mechanical and boiler factory' . He participated in organizing the Union of Engineers in St. Petersburg and, in 1905 he was arrested for organizing a strike among the engineers. In 1906, Boris Grigoryevich became a member of the Social-Democratic Party's St. Petersburg Committee and did not work anywhere else. The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, or RSDLP (Росси́йская Социа́л-Демократи́ческая Рабо́чая Па́ртия = РСДРП), also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party, was a revolutionary socialist Russian political party formed in 1898 in Minsk to unite the various revolutionary organisations into one party. ... In modern usage, the term communist party is generally used to identify any political party which has adopted communist ideology. ... Kharkov (rus: Ха́рьков) or Kharkiv (ukr: Ха́рків) is the second largest city in Ukraine, a center of Kharkivska oblast. It is situated in the northeast of the country and has a population of two million. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

On August 5 [O.S. July 23] 1906 the police surrounded his house No.13 in Alexeyevskaya Street, not far from Udelnaya railway station and arrested almost everyone of the Committee members. On March 26 [O.S. March 13] 1907, the St. Petersburg Court Chamber passed a sentence, which was surprisingly light, taken into account that at the moment of arrest some of the Committee members fired at policemen. One of the 19 Committee members was imprisoned for two years, 8, including B.G.Galerkin (or "Zakhar", according to his underground nickname) - for 1.5 years, others were discharged. is the 217th day of the year (218th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Old Style redirects here. ... Year 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year (86th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Old Style redirects here. ... Year 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

In prison, known under the name "Kresty", Boris Grigoryevich has lost interest to revolutionary activities and devoted himself to science and engineering. Prison conditions of that time were giving such opportunities. And what is more, in his work-book it is written that Boris Grigoryevich worked as an engineer at designing and constructing the boiler power plant from 1907. This fact was not explained, and Boris Grigoryevich did not like to remind others about his revolutionary youth. Later, in Soviet questionnaires he would not give clear answers on the persistent questions about membership in different parties. Of course, he was familiar with the fate of old Party members, but the main reason for it was that he had been elected to the Committee from the Mensheviks (a Party group with non-radical views, which members later were accused of contra-revolutionary activities and repressed). Galerkin's life could become the price if this fact became known to the public. Leaders of the Menshevik Party at Norra Bantorget in Stockholm, Sweden, May 1917. ...

Academic career

Galerkin was discharged from prison in the end of 1908. In March, he became a teacher at the Saint Petersburg Polytechnical Institute, at the same year his first scientific work was published by the institutes "Transactions". The article was titled "A theory of longitudinal curving and an experience of longitudinal curving theory application to many-storied frames, frames with rigid junctions and frame systems". The length of the title was indicative of the length of the work itself, 130 pages. It was written in the "Kresty" prison. In the summer of 1909 Boris Grigoryevich had a trip abroad to see constructions and buildings which interested him. During the next four years, i.e., before the World War I, he, as well as many other institute staff, visited Europe to stimulate their scientific interests. Galerkin visited Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Sweden. Main Building, Photo of 1902 Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University (Russian: ; abbreviated SPbSPU) is a major Russian technical university situated in Saint Petersburg. ...

Galerkin taught students at the mechanical department structural mechanics, i.e., conducted exercises and designing. The lecturer was professor V.L.Kirpichov - a famous scientist in the field of mechanics and per se the head of the Petersburg mechanical scientific school. However, most members also worked in the Polytechnical Institute, for example: I.G. Bubnov, A.N. Krylov, I.V. Meshcherskiy and S.P. Timoshenko. Main Building, Photo of 1902 Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University (Russian: ; abbreviated SPbSPU) is a major Russian technical university situated in Saint Petersburg. ...

From autumn 1911, Galerkin also worked at the Women's Polytechnical Institute. In 1913 he worked with the design of the metallic frame for a boiler power plant in St. Petersburg - the first building with metallic frame under big loads in Russia. Later it was considered to be one of the unique European engineering objects. Galerkin regularly published his works in the institutes "Transactions", and since 1915 - also in Engineering News. Before 1915 pivot systems were at the center of his scientific interest, later he started researching plates. Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland...

In 1915 Galerkin published an article, in which he put forward an idea of an approximate method for differential equations, in particular boundary value problems. He had applied his method to a big number of pivot and plate analysis problems. Some time before I.G.Bubnov developed a similar approach for the variational problem solution, which he interpreted as a variant of Ritz method algorithm. The distinguishing features of Galerkin's method were the following: he did not associate the method, developed by him, with any variational problem direct solution, but considered it to be common for solving differential equations. He interpreted it, using the probable displacements principle. These ideas showed to be very productive, not only in structural mechanics, but for mathematical physics at large. Visualization of airflow into a duct modelled using the Navier-Stokes equations, a set of partial differential equations. ... Shows a region where a differential equation is valid and the associated boundary values In mathematics, in the field of differential equations, a boundary value problem is a differential equation together with a set of additional restraints, called the boundary conditions. ... Plate has several meanings: A plate electrode in a vacuum tube. ... Calculus of variations is a field of mathematics that deals with functionals, as opposed to ordinary calculus which deals with functions. ... The Ritz method is a variational method named after Walter Ritz. ... Flowcharts are often used to graphically represent algorithms. ... Structural mechanics is the computation of deformations, deflections, and internal forces or stresses (Stress Equivalents) within structures, either for design or for performance evaluation of existing structures. ... Mathematical physics is the scientific discipline concerned with the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the development of mathematical methods suitable for such applications and for the formulation of physical theories. ...

The Galerkin method (or Bubnov-Galerkin method) with Galerkin's (or "weak") differential equations problem statement form are known all over the world. Nowadays they provide a foundation for algorithms in the fields of mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, hydrodynamics and many others. The Galerkin method is an approach invented by the Russian mathematician Boris Galerkin. ... Weak formulations have been an important means in the analysis of mathematical equations, since they permit the transfer of concepts of linear algebra to fields like partial differential equations. ... For other uses, see Mechanic (disambiguation). ... Thermodynamics (from the Greek θερμη, therme, meaning heat and δυναμις, dynamis, meaning power) is a branch of physics that studies the effects of changes in temperature, pressure, and volume on physical systems at the macroscopic scale by analyzing the collective motion of their particles using statistics. ... This box:      Electromagnetism is the physics of the electromagnetic field: a field which exerts a force on particles that possess the property of electric charge, and is in turn affected by the presence and motion of those particles. ... Hydrodynamics is fluid dynamics applied to liquids, such as water, alcohol, oil, and blood. ...

In January 1919, Galerkin became a professor in the 2nd (formerly Women's) Polytechnical Institute, remaining a teacher of structural mechanics in the 1st Polytechnical Institute (at that time the Polytechnical Institute was named so) mechanical department. In March 1920, a professor chair in structural mechanics was established at the department, and Boris Grigoryevich won it in a competition. In Summer 1921, S.P. Belzetskiy, a famous scientist in the field of structural mechanics and theory of elasticity, who was holding a similar chair at the civil engineering faculty, emigrated to Poland. Galerkin took part in a competition for his chair and in the beginning of 1922 he left the mechanical faculty for the civil engineering faculty, which was nearer to him in his scientific and engineering activities. The Petronas Twin Towers, designed by Thornton-Tomasetti and Ranhill Bersekutu Sdn Bhd engineers, and Cesar Pelli, were the worlds tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004. ...

However his talent at that time was not wanted by anyone and he could concentrate his attention towards scientific problems. Before, in 1917-1919 Galerkin published a series of works on rectangular and triangular plates curving in scientific periodicals, mentioned above, and in the "Russian Academy of Sciences Transactions". Later he had a break in publications, and only in 1922 he began publishing again, but only in foreign magazines (in Soviet Russia there was not enough paper for scientific literature). CCCP redirects here. ...

In December 1923 Galerkin was elected dean of the Polytechnical Institutes civil engineering faculty. It happened during a very important period of the institute's history, when a group of deans resigned from their posts, protesting from unceremonious intervention of so called "student' representatives", controlled by the trade-unions and the Communist party committees, into the educational process. Galerkin showed to be a talented leader of the faculty. He managed to neutralize too active "assistants", who were appointed against his will, and he did not hurry to fulfill the orders of incompetent leaders, who were conducting infinite experiments in the higher school at that time. In 1924 - 1929 Galerkin was also a professor in the Railway Engineers Institute and in the St. Petersburg University. In 1924 he made his last trip abroad - he participated in the Congress on applied mechanics in the Netherlands. In an educational setting, a dean is a person with significant authority . ...

In spring 1926 Galerkin learned that Narkompros (Ministry of education) had adopted a decision to close the road-making section at his faculty. This decision was prepared and adopted secretly from the dean by the institute Communist party committee in the connection with the company on elimination of parallel specialities. Meanwhile, there were no other faculties in the country, training specialists in the construction of electrified railways, urban railways and subways (the faculty had worked on this since 1907). Galerkin managed to cancel this rash decision by Moscow. During the period of Galrkin at the dean post, the first laboratory at the faculty was created. He also managed to receive governmental approval of the idea to built some other big laboratories for the faculty (the Hydrotechnical Research Institute was later established on their base). Narkompros (Наркомпрос) is an abbreviation for the Peoples Commissariat for Enlightenment (Народный комиссариат просвещения), the Soviet agency charged with, among other things, the administration of public education. ... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ...

In January 1928 Galerkin was appointed as a corresponding member-elected at the USSR Academy of sciences. His candidature was nominated by academicians A.F. Yoffe (Abram Ioffe), A.N. Krylov, P.P. Lazarev. In October 1929 he left the dean's post. After this the civil engineering faculty was divided into two parts: the hydrotechnical and irrigation sections became the water industry faculty, and the rest that became a part of the civil engineering faculty. was soon left out of the Polytechnical Institute and became the Civil and Industrial Engineering Institute, which however does not exist anymore. The water industry faculty soon became the Hydrotechnical institute. Galerkin was a professor at both institutes. Russian Academy of Sciences (Росси́йская Акаде́мия Нау́к) is the national academy of Russia. ... Abram Fedorovich Ioffe (Russian: , October 29, 1880 [O.S. October 17] – October 14, 1960) was a prominent Soviet/Russian physicist born in the Ukraine. ... Hydromechanics (Gr. ... Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops. ... Categories: Stub | Water | Sewerage | Industries ... Categories: Stub | Water | Sewerage | Industries ...

By the 1920s, Galerkin was already a world-famous scientist. He had had become an authority among engineers-designers. He was often recruited as a consultant to the designing and construction of serious industrial objects in the north-west Russia (heat power plants, Volkhov hydro power plant, Kondopoga pulp and paper mill and others). He was a member of the technical Councils of the designing institutes Gipromez and Giprotsvetmet, a member of the academic councils in the research institutes: Irrigation Institute (later - Hydrotechnical Research Institute), Institute of Structures. After the end of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station construction Boris Grigoryevich also became a member of the governmental commission. Dormition Church. ... International Paper Company, pulp mill A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber source into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. ... International Paper Companys Kraft paper mill in Georgetown, South Carolina. ... An academic senate is the part of a bicameral university governance structure responsible for academic decisions. ... The Dnieper Hydroelectric Station (or DnieproGES) is the largest hydroelectric power station in Ukraine and one of the largest in Europe. ...

In 1934, Galerkin got two doctoral degrees in technics and mathematics and the Honoured Worker in Science and Engineering title. In the beginning of 1936 he was elected a member of the USSR Academy of sciences. He also became a member of the highest Certifying Commission in the State Committee on higher technical education, a chairman of the technical mechanics group in the USSR Academy of sciences technical section, the headmaster of the USSR Academy of sciences Institute of Mechanics, the chairman of the Civil engineers scientific society and its Leningrad section. In April 1936 according to a governmental order Galerkin was appointed chairman of the Governmental Commission for the examination of the Moscow Palace of Soviets steel frame walls and overlappings initial project. A doctorate is an academic degree of the highest level. ... Technics is a brand name of the Japanese company Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. ... For other meanings of mathematics or uses of math and maths, see Mathematics (disambiguation) and Math (disambiguation). ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... The Palace of Soviets (Russian: , Dvorec Sovetov) was a project to construct an administrative center and a congress hall in Moscow, Russia, near the Kremlin, on the site of the demolished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. ...

Though having so many titles, Galerkin remained a professor of the structural mechanics and theory of elasticity department at the hydrotechnical faculty (the Hydrotechnical Institute was returned to the Polytechnical (at that time - Industrial) Institute as a faculty in 1934). Mostly he taught the course of the theory of elasticity, which was very difficult for the students of that time, who had a very weak training in mathematics. Students were visiting his lectures to look at the "real academician", but he disappointed them. He was short, puny, had a weak voice. His image did not correspond to the status of serious scientist with big authority, received from the government. At one time the academician was even pulled out of a tram by other well-grown passengers, and after this "accident" the institute administration applied to the authorities for a car. Institute of Technology is also the name of a vocational school in California. ...

War times and death

Galerkin drew in generals uniform in 1939, when the military-construction school was formed on the base of Civil and Industrial Engineering Institute, as the head of its structural mechanics department and the academician became a lieutenant general. Boris Grigoryevich had never been in the army before, but had to wear the generals uniform. He was shy and when somene saluted to him he usually got frightened and waved his hands. This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Uniform (disambiguation). ... Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. ... This article is about the gesture. ...

In the summer of 1941 after the beginning of the war the Commission on the defensive installations construction was created by the city government. Some academicians and prominent scientists became members (almost everyone was from the Polytechnical Institute), but only Boris Grigoryevich was involved with construction engineering. Practically he became the supervisor of the work for the Commission. Simultaneously Boris Grigoryevich was the city engineering defence department experts group head.

Later he was evacuated to Moscow, where he joined the military engineering commission of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Hard non-stop work was undermining the scientists health. Not long after the Great Victory, on July, 12, 1945 Galerkin died in Moscow.

Mathematical contributions

Galerkins name is forever attached to the finite element method, which is a way to numerically solve partial differential equations Mathematically, the finite element method (FEM) is used for finding approximate solution of partial differential equations (PDE) as well as of integral equations such as the heat transport equation. ... Numerical analysis is the study of approximate methods for the problems of continuous mathematics (as distinguished from discrete mathematics). ... In mathematics, and in particular analysis, a partial differential equation (PDE) is an equation involving partial derivatives of an unknown function. ...

Galerkin methods include:

• The Galerkin method - A method for approximating the solution to a problem in weak form. Most well known in the finite element method.
• The Petrov-Galerkin method
• The Streamline upwind Petrov-Galerkin method (SUPG)
• The Discontinuous Galerkin method

The Galerkin method is an approach invented by the Russian mathematician Boris Galerkin. ... Weak formulations have been an important means in the analysis of mathematical equations, since they permit the transfer of concepts of linear algebra to fields like partial differential equations. ... Mathematically, the finite element method (FEM) is used for finding approximate solution of partial differential equations (PDE) as well as of integral equations such as the heat transport equation. ...

Sources

• Saint-Petersburg State Polytechnical Universitys Galerkin biography

External links

• O'Connor, John J. & Robertson, Edmund F., “Boris Galerkin”, MacTutor History of Mathematics archive