Ceremonial meeting of the Academic Board celebrates 200 years of non-Euclidean geometry
The meeting was held in the Emperor Ballroom on February 26 to celebrate the anniversary of Nikolai Lobachevsky’s outstanding theoretical discovery.
The ideas conceived within the walls of one of Russia’s oldest universities have served the benefit of global and domestic science for centuries, and will continue to do so.
This event, extremely significant for the entire academic community, brought together scientists and experts in the fields of physics and mathematics, faculty, students, and other guests.
Rector Lenar Safin addressed the event participants with a welcoming speech.
He recalled that Nikolai Lobachevsky dedicated nearly 40 years to serving Kazan University, 19 of which were as its rector.
“Nikolay Ivanovich is the most renowned Russian mathematician and an outstanding scientist. He continues to be a role model for scientific courage. A man who defended his ideas against all odds. The path from fundamental and almost fantastical ideas to their practical implementation in the lives of each of us is clearly traceable. I believe that both now and in the future, the discoveries made by Kazan University scientists will make a significant contribution to the development of science and the development of our country,” emphasized the university’s leader.
Next, Dmitry Tayursky, First Vice-Rector and Vice-Rector for Research, delivered a lecture on the origins and current state of Lobachevskian geometry.
In it, he reflected on the “divine synthesis” of physical interactions, chemical reactions, and biochemical processes in the human brain that gives birth to a new, absolutely brilliant idea, leading to truly great discoveries. Indeed, as Tayursky noted, by presenting his ideas on non-Euclidean geometry to the global physics and mathematics community, Nikolai Lobachevsky took more than just a revolutionary step – it was a true revolution in science, changing the very concept of space.
As scientific thought developed, the lecture smoothly transitioned from a philosophical focus to a practical one – from the origins of Lobachevskian geometry to the modern discoveries based on it.
The ideas Lobachevsky laid down led to the development of the axiomatic method, within which geometry ceased to be viewed as a reflection of evident reality, but became a system of formal rules. This paved the way for the theory of manifolds, topology, and the study of multidimensional spaces.
Non-Euclidean geometry also contributed to the emergence of new branches of mathematics and the development of differential geometry, where space began to be viewed not as an abstract plane, but as an object with geometric properties.
In physics, Lobachevsky’s ideas influenced the creation of perhaps the most famous theory in the world 鈥� Einstein’s theory of relativity, in which time ceased to be perceived as linear, but, along with space, became curved under the influence of matter and energy.
These and many other discoveries are evidence that axioms can be a subject of choice and research, not just immutable truths, and that an entire field of science can emerge from this choice.
This idea was also supported by Iskander Taimanov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Chief Researcher at the Sobolev Institute of Mathematics, who also presented a report.
The meeting concluded with a ceremony awarding Kazan University staff with departmental and government awards of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan.