[Cuga] Maxim Polyakov Obituary — a message from Christian Weiss

[Lorelei Carlson]

With great sadness the JLab community has learned of the sudden passing of Maxim Polyakov
(Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany, and Petersburg Nuclear Physics InsFtute, Russia).

Maxim was an eminent scienFst who made seminal contribuFons to hadronic physics and had a
profound influence on the scienFfic program at JLab. He was one of the world’s leading
authoriFes in the spectroscopy of exoFc hadrons, the theory of high-momentum transfer
processes, the interpretaFon of the nucleon’s quark/gluon structure, and other areas of nonperturba
Fve QCD and mathemaFcal physics. His work on pentaquark baryons in 1997 with D.
Diakonov and V. Petrov revoluFonized the field of baryon spectroscopy and iniFated
experimental programs world-wide, ranging from photo/electroproducFon at JLab to
hadroproducFon at the LHC. His work on generalized parton distribuFons and hard exclusive
processes in the 1990’s and 2000’s is fundamental to the modern view of nucleon structure and
created the field of “hadron tomography,” providing new concepts that allow us to explore the
distribuFon of mass, angular momentum, and QCD forces in the nucleon. This work not only
inspires the hadron structure program with the JLab 12 GeV Upgrade but also informs future
iniFaFves such as the Electron-Ion Collider.

Maxim was born in the Irkutsk region of Siberia in 1966. He graduated from Leningrad State
University in 1989, joined the Petersburg Nuclear Physics InsFtute, and received his PhD degree
(Candidate of Science) under the supervision of D. Diakonov in 1993. He then made his home at
Ruhr-University Bochum, where he ulFmately became the intellectual leader of the hadronic
physics group, inspired colleagues and students with his ideas, and created a truly unique
network with researchers in Europe, Asia, and America. Following a brief appointment at the
University of Liège, Belgium, in 2002, he returned to Bochum as Associate Professor (C3) in 2005
and remained there since then.

Maxim authored more than 180 publicaFons, many of them top-cited and opening up new
direcFons of research. His outstanding contribuFons are widely recognized and have received
several awards, in parFcular the Sofia Kovalevskaya Prize in 2002. Equally important is his
influence on the many young researchers that he educated and formed, and the innumerable
insights and ideas that he shared with his collaborators.

Maxim lived his life with an intensity that is given only to few people. His commitment was
absolute, and he followed his ideas regardless of the demands. He was an extremely caring
person and deeply involved in the lives of his family, friends, and colleagues, ohen without
regard for himself. Those of us who knew him personally will forever remember how he touched
our lives and connected us with something that is larger than ourselves.

The JLab community has lost a great scienFst and a dear friend to many of us. His influence on
our field and our community will reach far into the future. Our deepest sympathy goes out to
Maxim’s family and friends.

Sent by friends and colleagues of Maxim in the JLab community


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://mailman.jlab.org/pipermail/cuga/attachments/20210831/141208f9/attachment.html>