The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Section of Physical-Technical and Mathematical Sciences, the Department of Mathematics of the NAS of Ukraine, and the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the NAS of Ukraine with deep sorrow announce that on January 1 of this year, at the age of 104, passed away the outstanding Ukrainian mathematician, a luminary of domestic science, a scientist of world renown, one of the creators of modern mathematical physics, the patriarch of the Kharkiv mathematical school, laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine, chief research fellow of the B.I. Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering of the NAS of Ukraine, academician of the NAS of Ukraine Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Marchenko.
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych belonged to the illustrious pleiad of Kharkiv intelligentsia. Raised in the family of Professor Oleksandr Hryhorovych and teacher Olha Fedorivna, he absorbed from childhood the ideals of impeccable honesty and devotion to truth. His path in science was swift and brilliant: the talent of the future academician blossomed already in his student years when he independently mastered the heights of mathematical thought. Having endured the trials of wartime years, he became a Doctor of Sciences at the age of 29.
The scientific heritage of Volodymyr Oleksandrovych is a monumental compendium of knowledge, including over 150 works and 15 fundamental monographs. His discoveries have a timeless character.
He is the creator of the theory of inverse problems of spectral analysis, and the "Marchenko equation" he discovered has become a classic of world science. Together with his students, he laid the foundation of the spectral theory of random matrices and the theory of homogenization. His contribution to soliton theory opened new horizons in understanding the deep laws of nature.
Volodymyr Marchenko was a living embodiment of the significance of the Kharkiv mathematical school. As one of the founders of the Mathematical Department of the B.I. Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, he transformed Kharkiv into one of the most powerful mathematical centers on the planet. For his numerous students and colleagues, he was not just a professor but an indisputable scientific guide.
He adhered to a philosophy according to which true science is a "monastic service," where asceticism, dedication to the cause, and crystal-clear purity of thought prevail. His lectures were a model of impeccable logic, and communication with him gave a sense of touching true wisdom.
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych was awarded numerous honors, including the Orders of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (III, IV, V degrees), the V.I. Vernadsky Gold Medal of the NAS of Ukraine, the Lenin and State Prizes, and many other high awards. He was elected an honorary doctor of the University of Paris and a member of the Norwegian Royal Society of Sciences and Letters.
The global scientific community bows its head in deep respect, bidding farewell to Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Marchenko – an outstanding beacon of mathematical thought. Academician Marchenko was a true architect of modern mathematical physics, whose ideas largely determined the vectors of its development at the turn of the millennium.
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Marchenko passed into eternity, leaving behind not only formulas and theorems but also an unattainable standard of human dignity.
The bright memory of the great Scientist, wise Teacher, and Person of exceptional nobility will forever remain in our hearts. His long life, filled with true service to science that lasted over a century, became an entire epoch in the world history of mathematics and an inexhaustible example for generations of researchers.
We share the unspeakable pain of loss and express our deepest condolences to the family, relatives, and the entire scientific community on the passing of the Patriarch of our science into eternity.
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Section of Physical-Technical and Mathematical Sciences
Department of Mathematics of the NAS of Ukraine
Department of Physics and Astronomy of the NAS of Ukraine
B.I. Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering of the NAS of Ukraine