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Prof. Mark Balk

Mark Balk, who established the mathematics school of polyanalytic functions at the Teachers University of Smolensk, passed away Jan. 16, 2018, at his home in Salt Lake City, Utah. Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary made the funeral arrangements.

“Mark was deeply devoted to his family,” his loved ones said. “He will be remembered in the hearts of many people whose lives he touched.

“His wisdom will always be missed.”

Mark Balk was born Jan. 28, 1923, in the small town of Polonnoye in Western Ukraine.

In 1937, his father was taken by the secret police and executed. “Till the end, Mark would go through his life bent under the weight of his father’s disappearance,” the family said.

Mr. Balk entered Kiev University in 1940 but left to fight the Nazis in 1941. His mother died as the Nazis overtook efforts to evacuate the Jews.

After the war, he graduated from Moscow Teachers University and joined the department of mathematics and physics at the Teachers University of Smolensk.

Mr. Balk instituted a mathematics school of polyanalytic functions at the Teachers University of Smolensk, and 13 students received their PhDs under his tutelage.

Mr. Balk wrote 11 books ranging from space flight to math for school children and university students that were published in the Soviet Union, Japan and Germany.

He also and published more that 100 research papers.

In 1997, Mr. Balk immigrated to the US.

Mr. Balk is survived by his sons Valery of Helsinki, Finland, and Alexander of Salt Lake City; and grandchildren Olga and Jonathan.

Copyright © 2018 by the Intermountain Jewish News




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