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| Spotlight on Spotlight on Pavel Bleher - Feb/Mar 2008 | |
 Growing Up: Prof. Pavel Bleher grew up in Moscow, Russia and started studying mathematics at a young age. When he was 12 years old, he took part in his first mathematical Olympiad, and from that point on you could say he was "hooked." He attended a high school specializing in mathematics in Moscow, where he learned Calculus, Real and Complex Analysis, Linear and Abstract Algebra, Probability and Combinatorics, and Classical and Quantum Mechanics. While in high school he began his first foray into the world of mathematical research and continued his participation in various mathematical and physical Olympiads. In fact, he was a winner in the National Russian Mathematical Olympiad, an achievement that earned him a spot on the 1965 Russian team for the International Mathematical Olympiadi, which took place in Berlin that year. He remembers the competition as being very exciting...even more so when he won First prize! After being accepted to Moscow State University, he immediately started working further on mathematical research and attended special mathematical seminars. Education: Prof. Bleher received his undergraduate degree in mathematics from Moscow State University. In 1974 he completed his Ph.D. at The Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics of the USSR Academy of Sciences under the direction of Prof. Yakov Sinai (now at Princeton), studying the "Renormalization group and critical phenomena in the Dyson hierarchical models of statistical mechanics." In 1984 he completed his habilitation at Vilnius State University in Lithuania, defending his dissertation titled "Limit theorems for sums of strongly dependent random variables." (The habilitation is earned after the Ph.D. and requires the candidate to write a second dissertation, reviewed by and defended before an academic committee. In the United States there is no precise equivalent for this award.) Current Research: Prof. Bleher's current research falls in the areas of mathematical physics, probability theory, and dynamical systems. In general, he is interested in mathematical problems which have physical background. Of this class of problems, he is most interested in mathematical problems originating in statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, quantum gravity, and classical and quantum chaos. Recently he has been working on the theory of random matrix models, which are directly related to exactly solvable models of statistical mechanics and quantum gravity, and random polynomials, which are related to the physical theory of quantum chaos. The Making of a Mathematician: Clearly, Prof. Bleher knew from a very early age that he liked solving difficult mathematical problems (and was good at it!). He's continued to do so throughout his career and still finds his work extremely enjoyable. The Most Rewarding Career Experience: Some of Prof. Bleher's most rewarding experiences occurred in 1992-1993, when he resided at the Institute for Advance Study in Princeton, and in 1999 when he organized a Special Program, together with Alexander Its (also of IUPUI), on "Random Matrices and Their Applications" at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) in Berkeley, California. He's also looking forward to the year-long Special Program on "Probabilistic Methods in Mathematical Physics" in Montreal, from June 2008 through June 2009, which he is currently organizing together with his colleagues John Harnad (Concordia University and CRM, Montreal) and Steve Zelditch (Johns Hopkins University). Advice for Math Majors: Prof. Bleher's advice for math students includes "Solve difficult mathematical problems!" and "Work on your own mathematical research projects." A great way to start solving more difficult problems is to compete in math competitions, including local competitions like the Indiana College Mathematics Contest (ICMC) and national competitions like the Putnam. Working with Students: Interacting with students is a very important part of Prof. Bleher's work and he truly enjoys it. For him, the most interesting and rewarding work is supervising mathematical research projects. He also wishes for all our undergraduate and graduate students to be successful in mathematics because it can be a very rewarding and enjoyable career. Surprises About Being a Mathematician: Prof. Bleher is continually surprised by how much his work is both interesting and enjoyable. The Mathematical Community: When Prof. Bleher moved to the United States in the early nineties, he met several people who had also participated in the International Mathematical Olympiad in Berlin in 1965. Among them was another esteemed IUPUI math Professor, Michal Misiurewicz, who won First prize a year later and was a member of the Polish national team. Later he met Luchko Avramov, a member of the Bulgarian team, who was formerly a Professor at Purdue University, and now is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Nebraska. He also encountered Dan Voiculescu, a renowned mathematician from UC Berkeley, who was a member of the Romanian team, Henryk Iwaniec (Rutgers University), a member of the Polish team, and a few others. The math world is really quite small! Courses Frequently Taught:
MATH 163/164/261/262 Calculus/Differential Equations MATH 598 Advanced Course in Probability and Statistical Mechanics MATH 491 Competitive Mathematical Solving Visit our Spotlight Archives |
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The Department of Mathematical Sciences of IUPUI Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis) School of Science. |
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