Maxim Sakharov became a user of Mathematica in 2008, while studying at Bauman Moscow State Technical University (Bauman MSTU). He used Mathematica for investigating different methods of numerical integration of stiff systems of differential equations, as well as precise methods for solving ill-conditioned systems of linear algebraic equations. Sakharov also performed a large amount of work in Mathematica devoted to digital signal processing and mathematical simulation of complex technical systems. The majority of his results were published in various academic periodicals and proceedings of Russian conferences.

As a sixth-year student at BMSTU, Sakharov is working out a wide range of real-world engineering problems in Mathematica, including thermal and deformation analysis. He is now working on his diploma project, devoted to the development of memetic optimization software.