Valerian Tatarskii

Valerian Illarionovich Tatarskii
Валериа́н Илларио́нович Тата́рский
Born(1929-02-06)February 6, 1929
DiedOctober 3, 2020(2020-10-03) (aged 91)
CitizenshipSoviet, American
Alma materLomonosov Moscow State University
Known forThe theory of wave propagation in random media
AwardsUSSR State Prize (1990)
Max Born Award (1994)
Scientific career
FieldsWave propagation in random media, Atmospheric physics, Atmospheric optics
InstitutionsRussian Academy of Sciences (Institute of Atmospheric Physics)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Environmental Technology Laboratory)
Doctoral advisorAlexander Obukhov

Valerian Illarionovich Tatarskii (Russian: Валериа́н Илларио́нович Тата́рский) was a Soviet and American physicist who worked on the theory of wave propagation in random media (WPRM). His theoretical work provided the statistical framework for understanding how turbulence in the atmosphere and ocean affects light, radio, and acoustic waves, used in fields such as adaptive optics, remote sensing, and free-space optical communications.