Prof. Bekkiev was born on 28 April 1952 in Alma-Ata city, Kazakhstan.
He obtained his engineering degree from Moscow Lomonosov State University (MSU) (1975), and after a two-year tenure as an Engineer at the High-Mountain Geophysical Institute (HMGI), he entered the postgraduate school of MSU where he obtained his Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (1982). He obtained his PhD in Engineering Science in 1996.
He worked as a Research Assistant and Head of Laboratory of Optical Research Methods (1981), and Senior Scientist in Physics (including quantum physics) (1985), both at HGMI. He served as Director of the High-Mountains Ecological Observatory (1990-2000), and Director of HGMI of the State Committee for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (2000-present).
Through his research, Prof. Bekkiev has authored more than 85 scientific papers and articles.
He has been awarded the following honours and awards: the Lenin’s Komsomol Premium of USSR (1992), the State Premium of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic in the field of Science and Engineering (1996), and the State Premium of the Russian Federation in the field of Science and Engineering (1997).
Prof. Bekkiev was elected as a Fellow of the IAS in 2000.