Sergei K. Godunov

Sergei Konstantinovich Godunov (b. July 17, 1929 in Moscow, Russia) is professor at the Sobolev Institute of Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk, Russia.

Professor Godunov's most influential work is in the area of applied and numerical mathematics. It has had a major impact on science and engineering, particularly in the development of methodologies used in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and other computational fields.

On 1-2 May, 1997 a symposium entitled: Godunov-type numerical methods, was held at the University of Michigan to honour Godunov. These methods are widely used to compute continuum processes dominated by wave propagation. On the following day, 3rd May, Godunov received an honorary degree from the University of Michigan.

Godunov's theorem (Godunov, 1959) (also known as Godunov's order barrier theorem) : Linear numerical schemes for solving partial differential equations, having the property of not generating new extrema (a monotone scheme), can be at most first-order accurate.

Godunov's scheme is a conservative numerical scheme for solving partial differential equations. In this method, the conservative variables are considered as piecewise constant over the mesh cells at each time step and the time evolution is determined by the exact solution of the Riemann (shock tube) problem at the inter-cell boundaries (Hirsch, 1990).

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Education

• 1946-1951 - Department of Mechanics and Mathematics, Moscow State University.

• 1951 - Diploma (M. S.), Moscow State University.

• 1954 - Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (Ph. D.).

• 1965 - Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (D. Sc.).

• 1976 - Corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

• 1994 - Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Academician).

• 1997 - Honorary professor of the University of Michigan (Ann-Arbor, USA).

Awards

• 1959 - State Lenin Prize.

• 1972 - A.N. Krylov Prize of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

• 1993 - M.A. Lavrentiev Prize of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

References

• Godunov, Sergei, K. (1954), Ph. D. Dissertation: Different Methods for Shock Waves, Moscow State University.

• Godunov, S. K. (1959), A Difference Scheme for Numerical Solution of Discontinuos Solution of Hydrodynamic Equations, Math. Sbornik, 47, 271-306, translated US Joint Publ. Res. Service, JPRS 7226, 1969.

• Hirsch, C. (1990), Numerical Computation of Internal and External Flows, vol 2, Wiley.

See also

• Godunov's theorem
• Total variation diminishing