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International math journal devotes entire issue to NU professor as birthday present

by jmaloni
Tue, Nov 13th 2012 03:15 pm

It's an age-old question: What do you give a world-renowned mathematician for his 75th birthday?

The editors of Mathematische Nachrichten presented Dr. Eduard R. Tsekanovskii with a special issue of their refereed mathematics journal, with all contributed articles reflecting the many scientific interests of the Niagara University math professor.

Yes, it's OK to take the calculator back now.

Tsekanovskii turned 75 on March 15. Within months, Mathematische Nachrichten, the 64-year-old journal of pure and applied mathematics, released the issue commemorating him.

"I cannot express how happy I am for Eduard, to see him honored in such a fitting way for his birthday," stated Dr. Nancy McGlen, dean of Niagara University's College of Arts and Sciences. "Eduard is such a humble man that the recognition is probably difficult for him to accept, but since it was done in such a professional and understated way, I think it's perfect."

Tsekanovskii was born in Odessa, Ukraine, a lively port city on the Black Sea that's home to numerous writers, poets, scientists and comedians. After high school, he entered the Odessa Pedagogical University and graduated with honor, receiving a degree in mathematics and mathematics education.

After an obligatory teaching assignment in a rural area, Tsekanovskii was accepted into the mathematics Ph.D. program at the Kharkov Institute of Radio Electronics (formerly the Mining Institute) under the supervision of Moshe Livsic, someone he affectionately considers his teacher for life.

Tsekanovskii graduated from this program, receiving his Ph.D. (1964) and doctor of science degree (1970) in physics and math at the celebrated Low Temperature Institute of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in Kharkov. Later, he also received a doctor of science in physics and mathematics from the Institute of Mathematics of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in Kiev.

In 1965, Tsekanovskii began his academic career at the newly established Donetsk University in Ukraine, serving as the supervisor of 10 Ph.D. students, many of whom became internationally recognized mathematicians.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Tsekanovskii left Donetsk University and immigrated to the U.S. In 1992, he started a new career on a visiting and then part-time professorship at SUNY Buffalo, and later at the University of Missouri, Columbia. In 1998, Tsekanovskii joined Niagara University, once again rising through the ranks to become a full professor in 2006.

Tsekanovskii has broad fields of research interests, ranging from complex and functional analysis, operator theory, stochastic processes and differential operators to system and spectral theory. He has published more than 150 articles, including more than 100 refereed articles in internationally acknowledged journals, along with research abstracts, manuscripts, and preprints in operator theory, functional analysis and applications, and system theory.

In 2011, Tsekanovskii co-authored a book, "Conservative Realizations of Herglotz-Nevalinna Functions," with Yuri Arlinskii and Sergey Belyi.

The editorial page of the special issue of Mathematische Nachrichten says, "We would fail in our attempt to honor Eduard's wide range of achievements over the years if we would not also emphasize his beaming and yet so charming personality, his extraordinary sense of humor, his humility and his unique capacity for long-lasting friendships, which reach out to so many corners of the globe."

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