Short and non-formal research CV

To help you in understanding of the origins of different topics and some links between a part of them, I am briefly describing below my educational backgrounds and the beginning of my research activities, both in the former Soviet Union. I started research when being a Master student in Physics Department of Moscow State University (MSU). My first 2 journal publications were due to M2 research […]. My M2 supervisor, Oleg Rudenko (Assistant Professor at that time, currently an Academician in Russian Federation), had just finished to write a book on “Theoretical Foundations of Nonlinear Acoustics” (co-authored by Stepan Soluyan), first book on the nonlinear acoustics in the world […]. I read the book at least twice, first, before its submission for publishing and, then, the proofs. The first time, I was asked to check some derivations in the book. I was extremely attracted by nonlinear acoustic phenomena and how beautiful they are as well as related mathematics, although I had never followed any lectures or seminars on nonlinear acoustics. This happened because both my Master supervisor and me were affiliated not with the Acoustics Laboratory but with the Laboratory of Nonlinear Optics and Wave Processes, mostly dedicated to nonlinear optics and laser-based research. There were no lectures on nonlinear acoustics there…

I had never been a PhD student. I had received the “red diploma” (only highest notes for all five years of the University) and applied for the PhD fellowship, but I was excluded from the lists of the candidates, because I had been earlier caught once by the University administration to be on mountain climbing at Caucasia during the education time. I got only the position of the Engineer in our Laboratory, but I was so happy for this chance to stay in MSU. In a couple of months after the beginning, everybody understood that it would be better if I am doing only theoretical research. I defended the PhD thesis based on the totality of the published results in nonlinear acoustics (in less than 3 years) faster than the PhD students of the same promotion, but later I was kept working as Engineer for another 4 years and I was happy to stay in MSU. The atmosphere in the Laboratory was initiating interest to all nonlinear phenomena, i.e., not only in optics. Therefore, it is currently understandable why, starting with pure nonlinear acoustics, I turned soon to excitation of the nonlinear acoustic waves by lasers, then to physical mechanisms of optoacoustic transformation and accompanying nonlinear processes in laser generation of linear acoustic waves…

I had been allowed for the first time to go for the research stay abroad (to Czechoslovakia, from the former “Eastern bloc”) in 1989 ten years after the graduation from the University. Then, two years later, I participated in the first for me scientific conference abroad in the “Western bloc” country (The Netherlands) and was Invited Professor in the western country (in Paris). Although earlier I had published several papers in “western journals”, I started to publish most of my research results in “western journals” only 15 years after my first journal publications. Therefore, my research activities before 1993 are poorly cited, although the papers were translated into English by AIP in Sov. Phys. Acoustics and other Sov. Phys. Journals. When later, I was invited in different Universities, I was allowed to initiate research and/or develop theories on linear and nonlinear photoacoustic or photothermal processes and nonlinear waves. I contributed to research on nonlinear photo-reflectance by Prof. Danièle Fournier in ESPCI (Paris, France) and on linear and nonlinear laser-induced surface and interface acoustic waves by Prof. Pater Hess in Heidelberg University (Germany) and by Prof. Jan Thoen and Dr. Christ Glorieux in Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium). I developed theories for the research on nonlinear laser-induced thermal and thermoelastic wave phenomena by Prof. Andreas Mandelis in Toronto University (Canada) and on laser-induced nonlinear thermo-diffusional waves by Prof. Gerald Diebold in Brown University (Providence, USA). After my arrival in Le Mans University (LMU, France) in 1997, I was working, first, mostly on the projects in linear and nonlinear thermoacoustics, conducted by Prof. Michel Bruneau. In parallel to thermoacoustics I was working on nonlinear acoustics projects, while later, after the installation of first lasers in LMU (around 2003) I was working more on the projects in laser ultrasonics, picosecond laser ultrasonics (PLU) and nonlinear photoacoustics (NLPA). I was also initiating and/or theoretically supporting the experiments in PLU, starting 1995 and until now, in other Laboratories (including my former Lab in Moscow State University). First collaborations with Oliver Wright started more than 30 years ago, even before he got a permanent position in Hokkaido University (Japan). He conducted experiments in Nippon Steel Co (Japan) and in the University of Roma (Italy). I am also collaborating on PLU for many years and till now with Prof. Chi-Kuang Sun (National Taiwan University), Dr. Andrey Akimov (Nottingham University, UK) and Dr. Aleksey Scherbakov (Technical University of Dortmund, Germany). I was collaborating continuously on PLU for more than 10 years with Prof. Thomas Dekorsy (University of Konstanz, Germany). In Le Mans University I am developing LU and PLU research together with Prof. Pascal Ruello, Ass. Prof. Samuel Raetz, Dr. Nikolay Chigarev, Dr. Gwenaelle Vaudel and Dr. Vincent Tournat. I have long-term collaboration on LU and PLU applications to high pressures research with Dr. Andreas Zerr (University Paris Nord, France), on all-optical nonlinear acoustics with Dr. Chenyin Ni and Prof. Zhonghua Shen (Nanjing University of Science and Technology, China) and on PLU with Dr. X. Jan and the Professors H. Lu, Y.-F. Chen, M.-H. Lu and D. Wu (Nanjing University, China).