The 21st of August is a memorable date in the history of the Joint Institute. Nikolay Nikolaevich Bogoliubov, an outstanding Russian scientist, widely known throughout the world, one of the “founding fathers” of JINR, whose great contribution to physics and mathematics cannot be overestimated, was born on this day in 1909. Nikolay Bogoliubov was the founder and the first Director of the Laboratory of Theoretical Physics of JINR. He also was the Director of JINR in 1965 — 1989.

Nikolay Bogoliubov made a fundamental contribution to the development of statistical mechanics of equilibrium and non-equilibrium processes, where he managed to obtain sizeable results which were later on named after the prominent scientist and are now a classic. All of these techniques and their results have been widely used in condensed matter physics and quantum physics. They lie at the heart of solving the most important problems of applied mathematical physics.

Speaking at last year’s conference dedicated to the 110th anniversary of the birth of Nikolay Bogoliubov, JINR Director academician Victor Matveev said:

— Nikolay Nikolaevich has achieved great results in many areas of science. He was a mathematician, a mechanic, and, of course, a physicist in the highest meaning of this word. He established mathematical physics as we understand it today. This is a very close combination of General mathematical and natural-physical approaches that combine science into one whole. This is a very tight integration of mathematical and physical approaches that combine science into one whole. I remember when committees on awarding the Bogoliubov gold medal and Prize were established at the Russian Academy of Sciences, four RAS departments at once advocated that their representatives should participate in these committees. Even the Department of Atmospheric Physics which used mathematical methods put forward its representative. Nikolay Nikolaevich blended a great amount of knowledge and a deep approach to mathematical and general scientific problems which distinguishes him from a number of famous scientists. And, probably, such a person is born once in hundreds of years. He greatly impacted the development of physics, mathematics, and mechanics in their unity in the world, as well as in our country and in our Institute to which he gave, perhaps, the best years of his life establishing his school.