Igor Gamow
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2008-07-03T01:55:05Z
Rjwilmsi
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gen + birth/death date fixes per [[Wikipedia:DATE#Dates_of_birth_and_death|MOS]] using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]]
[[Image:IgorGamow.gif|frame|Dr. Igor Gamow]]
'''Rustem Igor Gamow''' (born 1936), son of famous scientist [[George Gamow]], is a [[microbiology]] professor and [[inventor]]. His most well known inventions include: the [[Gamow bag]], and the [[Shallow Underwater Breathing Apparatus]].
== Childhood ==
Rustem Igor Gamow was born to famous [[cosmologist]] and [[physicist]], [[George Gamow]], and ballet dancer, [[Rho Gamow]]. Finishing high school at age 17, Gamow joined the [[National Ballet Company]] in the footsteps of his mother. Before enrolling in the [[University of Colorado at Boulder|University of Colorado]] in 1958, where his father taught [[Physics]], in [[Microbiology]] and [[Microphysics]]; Igor Gamow held jobs such as breaking horses, delivering packages by motorcycle, and teaching karate.
== Inventions ==
Being an avid outdoorsmen, many of Gamow's inventions have improved the safety of outdoor activities. Igor Gamow's first major invention was the [[Gamow bag]] (first patented in 1990), which aided mountain climbers. The bag would allow the user to increase the [[air pressure]] within, to avoid the potentially deadly low [[air pressure]] at high altitudes. [[Sir Edmund Hillary]], first person to lead an expedition to climb [[Mount Everest]], wrote to Gamow personally, praising his invention.
Another major invention of his, is the SUBA (Shallow Underwater Breathing Apparatus) gear. The SUBA serves as an air-pressurized [[Snorkeling|snorkle]] system, that allows the user to swim up to 10 feet below the water's surface without coming up for air.
=== Patents ===
*{{US patent|4974829}} -- Hyperbaric chamber
*{{US patent|5109837}} -- Hyperbaric chamber
*{{US patent|5193530}} -- Underwater breathing apparatus
*{{US patent|5360001}} -- Hyperbaric chamber closure means
*{{US patent|5367790}} -- Shoe and foot prosthesis with a coupled spring system
*{{US patent|5398678}} -- Hyperbaric chamber and exercise environment
*{{US patent|5467764}} -- Hypobaric sleeping chamber
*{{US patent|5580094}} -- In-line skate walking guard
*{{US patent|5701686}} -- Shoe and foot prosthesis with bending beam spring structures
*{{US patent|5947116}} -- Underwater breathing apparatus with pressurized snorkel
*{{US patent|6029374}} -- Shoe and foot prosthesis with bending beam spring structures
== Current events ==
Igor Gamow conducts research in [[bionics]], on an [[orthopedic]] knee brace that stores energy within a spring from the [[hamstring]] and redirects it to the [[quadriceps]].
In 2002, a former assistant of Gamow’s filed a lawsuit against the University alleging sexual harassment and sexual assault. After the lawsuit was filed, CU began to take steps to fire the professor. In 2004 the CU Board of Regents unanimously upheld the recommendation to fire Gamow. Professor Gamow also filed a lawsuit against CU in an attempt to be reinstated.
In May 2006, CU lost the lawsuit that had been filed by Gamow's former assistant and was ordered to pay her $285,000 plus attorney's fees.
==External links==
*[http://www.gamow.com Gamow's personal homepage]
*[http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/gamow.html MIT inventor of the week]
*[http://www.mounteverest.net/old-news/newspages/idgamowi.htm Explorer's web profile and interview]
*[http://www.westword.com/1996-06-06/news/fear-and-groping-in-boulder/full Fear and Groping In Boulder] ''Denver Westworld'' June 1996 article, this article contains three sexual harassment stories, scan down to the heading 'Freshman Disorientation' for the one referencing Igor Gamow
*[http://www.westword.com/1996-07-04/news/isn-t-it-romantic/full Isn't It Romantic] ''Denver Westworld'' July 1996 article, documents an accusation of sexual harassment that was not upheld by university review despite finding the accuser 'credible' and recommending that Igor Gamaw take four hours of sexual-harassment training
*[http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2006/05/the_smutty_professor.php The Smutty Professor] ''Denver Westword'' May 2006 article on Gamow's problem with sexual harassment that resulted in his dismissal from the University of Colorado
*[http://gamow.com/igorweb/Kaufman%20Letter%20January%202007.pdf Open Letter to the Editor of the Boulder Daily Camera] Igor Gamow, January 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gamow, Igor}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:living people]]
[[Category:Chemical engineers]]