Victor Vladimir Solovyev

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Victor Vladimirovich Solovyev of San Francisco, CA, beloved husband, father,  grandfather and dearest friend, who passed away on March 6, 2023 surrounded by his loved ones.

Victor was born on December 26, 1955, in Novosibirsk, Russia, to parents Vladimir Pavlovich Solovyev and Ludmila Konstantinovna Solovyeva; Victor was their first child followed by his younger brother Vyacheslav.  He entered the world as a gifted and talented boy with curious and creative mind who excelled in all subjects at school.  After graduating from high school, Victor was determined to pursue a career as a Physicist – Scientist and was admitted to the Physics Department at the prestigious Novosibirsk State University.  His experiences here paved a strong background for his future carrier path, and crystallized his interest in Computational Biology (“Mathematical Biology”) to study Genome Structure and Evolution. Joining the group of Professor Ratner at the Theoretical group in the Institute of Cytology and Genetics in Akademgorodok, Novosibirsk, Victor received his Ph.D.  He continued with the team, as a developer of new Bioinformatics tools, mentoring graduate and Post-doctoral Fellows, writing textbooks and publishing numerous high-impact papers. Victor’s influence on the next generation of scientists has been remarkable. His high energy, passion, optimism were contagious.  He was a true leader. Many of his students became prominent figures proudly representing Russian Bioinformatics School in the top Universities, Centers around the world: in the US, Europe, Russia, former Sovyet Union Republics.  He left his legacy behind for many generations.

He met the love of his life Irina, at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics in 1979.  It was a beautiful romance and they married in 1981.  Their son Vladimir was born in 1984 and in 1992 the family moved to the US where Victor had been invited to work in the Supercomputer Center in Tallahassee, Florida.  Later, both Victor and Irina worked at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX, but eventually made their way to California, where they laid down new roots and made their chosen home.  They first resided in Thousand Oaks near LA while working in AMGEN, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, later as a Bioinformatics Group Lead at the Sanger Center in UK, until they moved to San-Francisco. He became a Professor of Computer Science, Royal Holloway, in the University of London with his teaching carrier extending to over 10 years instead of originally planned a couple of years.  After return from UK in 2012 his family spent two years abroad, he served as a Professor of Computer Science, Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering Division, KAUST, KSA.  In 2015 he founded Softberry, Inc and led the company as Chief Scientific Officer.  The most recent appointment was with Avellino’s Lab that warmly welcomed him where he loved and enjoyed working until his last days.

His favorite place to spend time with family and friends was their Forestville Dacha on the Russian River in Sonoma Valley where he would go fishing, boating, and gardening. He asked his family to find a resting place for him to be close to his Dacha and Russian River.

Victor was predeceased by his father Vladimir Pavlovich Solovyev, his mother Ludmila Konstantinovna Solovyeva and his younger brother Vyacheslav Solovyev. He is survived by his wife Irina, son Vladimir, daughter-in-law Jessica, and two granddaughters Anastasia and Mila Valentina Solovyev. The family requests that all flowers and notes are sent to 1700 Pleasant Hill Rd, Sebastopol, CA 95472, USA. There will be a memorial service to honor Victor at March 14th at 11am at Pleasant Hills Memorial Park (1700 Pleasant Hill Rd, Sebastopol, CA 95472, USA).