Vekua, Ilia

Born Apr. 23 (May 6), 1907, in the village of Sheshelety, Georgia. Soviet mathematician and specialist in mechanics. Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1958; corresponding member, 1946) and of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR (1946); Hero of Socialist Labor (1969). Member of the CPSU since 1943.

Vekua graduated from the University of Tbilisi in 1930 and worked in the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR, and at higher educational institutions. He was head of the University of Novosibirsk from 1959 through 1964 and has been head of the University of Tbilisi since 1965. Vekua’s works deal with new scientific trends in modern mathematical physics. His works on partial differential equations are mainly devoted to creating an analytical theory for a vast class of equations of the elliptical type. Vekua made a great contribution to the theory of one-dimensional singular integral equations and discovered and investigated a new class of non-Fredholm elliptical boundary value problems. In mechanics, Vekua proposed a new variant of the mathematical theory of elastic shells. He solved the difficult problems of the small bendings of surfaces and the closely related problems of the zero-moment theory of shells. A deputy to the seventh and eighth convocations of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Vekua has been awarded the State Prize of the USSR in 1950, the Lenin Prize in 1963, three Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Badge of Honor, and various medals.