Alexander Volberg

I was born in communal apartment, 3 families lived in it with one kitchen and one bathroom.

When I was 7 we moved to our own place. At 14 I entered Leningrad school number 239, now known as St. Petersburg mathematical lycée. At 16 I became a student of mathematics at Leningrad University--I was one of three Jewish kids accepted among 300 boys and girls. One per cent ratio--much less than it was allowed in tzars Russia.

In two years I got my first serious problem from my future supervisor, professor Nikolai Nikolski, and read my first math. book ``Uniform Algebras" by Ted Gamelin.

In three years I at last understood something and partially solved that first problem.

All this time I was attending Khavin--Nikolski seminar in Steklov Institute.

When I graduated from Leningrad University, there was no way to be accepted to graduate school, so I started to work ``in industry", continuing at the same time my research with Nikolai Nikolski. I got PhD at Steklov Math. Institute. In my thesis I solved a problem of Axler-Chang-Sarason and generalized Beurling uniqueness theorems. In 1988 got Salem prize. When perestroika began I was accepted to Steklov Institute. In 1990 I, my wife Olga, and my son Vitaly, we moved to US. I was a professor at U. Paris 6 and Maxwell Professor at U. of Edinburg, but by family reasons stayed in US, where I am MSU foundation professor. In 2006 I was awarded Onsager medal and in 2011 Humboldt research grant.