Secretariat

Maxim Poliakov

It is very sad to report that Dr Maxim Poliakov, Research Fellow in the School of Mathematics (Department of Pure Mathematics), died suddenly in Moscow on 2 January 2006. Maxim was just 31 years old.

Dr Poliakov was an outstanding student at Moscow State University from 1991 to 1996, gaining a First Class degree in Mathematics, and received his PhD in 2001 for research carried out under the supervision of Professor A Helemskii. Shortly afterwards, he was awarded a prestigious Chevening Postdoctoral Fellowship by the Royal Society of London, which enabled him to come to Leeds to work with Professor H Garth Dales on aspects of Banach algebras. Their successful collaboration led to the publication of a major paper in the Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society in 2004.

Dr Poliakov returned to Moscow in 2003, but came back to Leeds in November 2004, having been awarded an EU Marie-Curie International Fellowship. A lengthy article setting out the fruits of the latest research that he and Professor Dales have been undertaking is at an advanced stage of preparation; Professor Dales plans to complete this as a memorial to an extremely gifted young mathematician, who had already achieved results of significance and substance in his field.

Maxim Poliakov will be greatly missed by his many friends in Mathematics and other parts of the University, including the International Student Club. The funeral took place in Moscow on 9 January 2006.

Dr Poliakov leaves a widow, Yana Poliakova.