Vladimir Kotelnikov
Encyclopedia
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Kotelnikov (Russian
Владимир Александрович Котельников, scientific transliteration Vladimir Alexandrovič Kotelnikov, September 6, 1908 in Kazan
– February 11, 2005 in Moscow
) was an information theory
and radar astronomy
pioneer from the Soviet Union
. He was elected a member of the Russian Academy of Science, in the Department of Technical Science (radio technology) in 1953. From July 30, 1973 to March 25, 1980 Kotelnikov served as Chairman of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet.
He is mostly known for having discovered, independently of others (e.g. Edmund Whittaker, Harry Nyquist
, Claude Shannon), the sampling theorem in 1933.
This result of Fourier Analysis was known in harmonic analysis
since the end of the 19th century and circulated in the 1920s and 1930s in the engineering community. He was the first to write down a precise statement of this theorem in relation to signal transmission. He also was a pioneer in the use of signal theory in modulation and communications.
He is also a creator of the theory of optimum noise immunity.
He obtained several scientific prizes for his work in radio astronomy
and signal theory. In 1961, he oversaw one of the first efforts to probe the planet Venus with radar. In June 1962 he led the first probe of the planet Mercury
with radar.
Kotelnikov was also involved in cryptography
, proving the absolute security of the one-time pad
; his results were delivered in 1941, the time of Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, in a report that apparently remains classified. In this, as with the above-mentioned sampling theorem, he and Claude Shannon in the US reached the same conclusions independently of each other.
For his achievements Kotelnikov was awarded the IEEE 2000 Gold Medal of Alexander Graham Bell and the honorable IEEE Third Millennium Medal. Prof. Bruce Eisenstein, the President of the IEEE, described Kotelnikov as follows: «The outstanding hero of the present. His merits are recognized all over the
world. In front of us is the giant of radio engineering thought, who has made the most significant contribution to media communication development".
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
Владимир Александрович Котельников, scientific transliteration Vladimir Alexandrovič Kotelnikov, September 6, 1908 in Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
– February 11, 2005 in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) was an information theory
Information theory
Information theory is a branch of applied mathematics and electrical engineering involving the quantification of information. Information theory was developed by Claude E. Shannon to find fundamental limits on signal processing operations such as compressing data and on reliably storing and...
and radar astronomy
Radar astronomy
Radar astronomy is a technique of observing nearby astronomical objects by reflecting microwaves off target objects and analyzing the echoes. This research has been conducted for six decades. Radar astronomy differs from radio astronomy in that the latter is a passive observation and the former an...
pioneer from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. He was elected a member of the Russian Academy of Science, in the Department of Technical Science (radio technology) in 1953. From July 30, 1973 to March 25, 1980 Kotelnikov served as Chairman of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet.
Career timeline
- 1926-31 study of radioRadioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
telecommunications at the Bauman Moscow State Technical University and Moscow Power Engineering InstituteMoscow Power Engineering InstituteMoscow Power Engineering Institute is one of the largest and leading technical universities in the world in the area of power engineering, electronics and IT...
, dissertation in engineering science. - 1931-41 worked at the MEI as engineer, scientific assistant, laboratory director and lecturer.
- 1941-44 worked as developer in the telecommunication industry.
- 1944-80 full professor at the MEI.
- 1953-87 deputy director and since 1954 director of the Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics of the Russian Academy of Science (IRE RAS).
- 1964 Lenin PrizeLenin PrizeThe Lenin Prize was one of the most prestigious awards of the USSR, presented to individuals for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was created on June 23, 1925 and was awarded until 1934. During the period from 1935 to 1956, the Lenin Prize was...
- 1970-88 vice-president of the RAS; since 1988 adviser of the presidium.
Achievements
Harry Nyquist
Harry Nyquist was an important contributor to information theory.-Personal life:...
, Claude Shannon), the sampling theorem in 1933.
This result of Fourier Analysis was known in harmonic analysis
Harmonic analysis
Harmonic analysis is the branch of mathematics that studies the representation of functions or signals as the superposition of basic waves. It investigates and generalizes the notions of Fourier series and Fourier transforms...
since the end of the 19th century and circulated in the 1920s and 1930s in the engineering community. He was the first to write down a precise statement of this theorem in relation to signal transmission. He also was a pioneer in the use of signal theory in modulation and communications.
He is also a creator of the theory of optimum noise immunity.
He obtained several scientific prizes for his work in radio astronomy
Radio astronomy
Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The initial detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was made in the 1930s, when Karl Jansky observed radiation coming from the Milky Way. Subsequent observations have identified a number of...
and signal theory. In 1961, he oversaw one of the first efforts to probe the planet Venus with radar. In June 1962 he led the first probe of the planet Mercury
Mercury (planet)
Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...
with radar.
Kotelnikov was also involved in cryptography
Cryptography
Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
, proving the absolute security of the one-time pad
One-time pad
In cryptography, the one-time pad is a type of encryption, which has been proven to be impossible to crack if used correctly. Each bit or character from the plaintext is encrypted by a modular addition with a bit or character from a secret random key of the same length as the plaintext, resulting...
; his results were delivered in 1941, the time of Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, in a report that apparently remains classified. In this, as with the above-mentioned sampling theorem, he and Claude Shannon in the US reached the same conclusions independently of each other.
For his achievements Kotelnikov was awarded the IEEE 2000 Gold Medal of Alexander Graham Bell and the honorable IEEE Third Millennium Medal. Prof. Bruce Eisenstein, the President of the IEEE, described Kotelnikov as follows: «The outstanding hero of the present. His merits are recognized all over the
world. In front of us is the giant of radio engineering thought, who has made the most significant contribution to media communication development".
Honours and awards
- Order of Merit for the FatherlandOrder of Merit for the FatherlandThe Order of Merit for the Fatherland was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree. The statutes describe it as a decoration for merit, not an order of knights....
;- 1st class (21 September 2003) - for outstanding achievement in the development of science and many years of fruitful activity
- 2nd class (6 July 1998) - for outstanding service to the state, his great personal contribution to the development of national science and training of highly qualified personnel
- Order of Honour
- Twice Hero of Socialist Labour (1969, 1978)
- Six Orders of Lenin
- Order of the Red Banner of LabourOrder of the Red Banner of LabourThe Order of the Red Banner of Labour was an order of the Soviet Union for accomplishments in labour and civil service. It is the labour counterpart of the military Order of the Red Banner. A few institutions and factories, being the pride of Soviet Union, also received the order.-History:The Red...
, twice - Order of the Badge of Honour
- Lenin PrizeLenin PrizeThe Lenin Prize was one of the most prestigious awards of the USSR, presented to individuals for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was created on June 23, 1925 and was awarded until 1934. During the period from 1935 to 1956, the Lenin Prize was...
(1964) - Two Stalin Prizes (1943, 1946)
- Badge "For Services to Moscow" (26 August 2003) - for outstanding contribution to the development of national science and technology, training of scientific personnel, many years of fruitful activities that promote social and economic development in Moscow
- Prize of the Council of Ministers
- Lomonosov Gold MedalLomonosov Gold MedalThe Lomonosov Gold Medal, named after Russian scientist and polymath Mikhail Lomonosov, is awarded each year since 1959 for outstanding achievements in the natural sciences and the humanities by the USSR Academy of Sciences and later the Russian Academy of Sciences . Two medals are awarded...
(1981) - Popov Gold Medal (1974)
- Gold Medal of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1987)
- Gold Medal of the A. F . Bell (2000)
- Main prize of the International Science Foundation Edward Rhine (Germany, 1999) - for "basic research" which for the first time accurately defined and mathematically proved, in the aspect of communication technology, sampling theorem
- Kotel'nikov's name has been given to asteroid number 2726 (International catalog number 9214), to a naval vessel and to the Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics.