Yakov Sinai

Yakov Sinai is a mathematician, physicist, and university teacher born in Moscow in 1935. He holds citizenship in Russia, the United States, and the Soviet Union. His professional career includes positions at Princeton University, Lomonosov Moscow State University, and the Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics. He was educated at the MSU Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics at Lomonosov Moscow State University.

Sinai’s work focuses on mathematical physics, probability theory, statistical mechanics, and mathematics. He is known for notable work in dynamical billiards. He received the Abel Prize, Henri Poincaré Prize, Boltzmann Medal, and Marcel Grossmann Award. He is a member of the Royal Society, National Academy of Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

His doctoral advisor was Andrey Kolmogorov. He has supervised doctoral students including Leonid Bunimovich, Grigory Margulis, Dmitry Dolgopyat, and Konstantin Khanin. Other students include Anatole Katok. He speaks Russian and English. He resides in Princeton.