Taras Shevchenko Scientific Society in America named Oleksandr Marynych, a professor at the Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University, the best young mathematician in Ukraine. The news came a year ago, but due to quarantine restrictions, the award ceremony took place just now.
“Only young scientists under the age of 35 can take part in the selection, so I submitted the necessary documents, and nine months later I received the news of my victory,” Oleksandr says. “The prize was awarded for a series of scientific papers “Asymptotic Distributions of Multidimensional Multiplicative Arithmetic Functions: Probability-Based Approach”. This is a study at the intersection of probability theory and number theory.
Now I study a topic which is also at the intersection of probability theory and abstract algebra and geometry. The new work is related to the so-called convex hulls. We can imagine a set of points in any space or on a surface: we need to find the smallest set that contains these points. Certainly, this set is convex. This is a well-studied subject in mathematics, but in my work, I proposed some far-reaching generalizations. This is purely theoretical mathematics. For me, this is a kind of mathematical art. I enjoy bringing the work to “fine results”.
Since my postgraduate studies, I collaborate with scientists from Germany, Poland, France, Great Britain, Switzerland, etc. By the way, the study of convex hulls took place in cooperation with German and Swiss colleagues. I am an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow; I spent two years in Münster (Germany), in the Westphalian University. This period was very fruitful for me; the contacts I received during the internship still help me in my work. In general, I defended two PhD theses: one in Ukraine and the other in the Netherlands, in Utrecht.
I am sometimes asked if I want to work in another country. However, I don’t even think about such issues. Mathematicians don’t need anything to study mathematics. Internet, paper, pencils, that’s all. Therefore, the location is not important for work. In addition, mathematics is an international science. We always understand each other.
In general, mathematics is my vocation since childhood. As Hryhoriy Skovoroda said, it is related work. So far, I have already submitted a project for the competition announced by the National Research Foundation of Ukraine for 2022. For many years I collaborate with Oleksandr M. Iksanov, Professor, Head of the Operations Research Department at the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University. Mr. Iksanov was my PhD thesis advisor, a doctoral consultant. Traditionally, every year we publish at least two scientific papers as co-authors.
I begin every day by reviewing preprints and research papers in mathematics. Oleksandr Iksanov taught me this and, in fact, any other way is impossible. I analyze the research of other scientists, then my own ideas arise, and I try to implement them.
Modern mathematical science is characterized by interdisciplinarity. That is, the outstanding achievements of mathematicians are directly or indirectly related to chemistry, physics, biology and other sciences. Therefore, there are hundreds of topics for probable research.
Alina VOLYK