Alexander M. Gorlov (March 23, 1931 – June 10, 2016) was a Russian

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

who was Professor Emeritus and Director of Hydro-Pneumatic Power Laboratory at

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

Early life

Alexander M. Gorlov was born into the family of a prosperous lawyer. His father was arrested and died in prison during

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

's purges. His mother also spent a number of years in concentration camps in Russia, which forced young Alexander Gorlov to spend some of his childhood years in the orphanage in a remote Russian

Urals The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through European ...

area. Gorlov received his Doctorate in engineering and had a successful scientific career in Moscow for a number of years during the relatively liberal period of the so-called

Khrushchev Thaw The Khrushchev Thaw ( rus, хрущёвская о́ттепель, r=khrushchovskaya ottepel, p=xrʊˈɕːɵfskəjə ˈotʲ:ɪpʲɪlʲ or simply ''ottepel'')William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, London: Free Press, 2004 is the period ...

. He was granted the Gold and two Bronze Medals for Achievements of the USSR National Economy. In 1975 because of his friendship with

Alexander Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repress ...

, the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner and outspoken critic of the communist system, Gorlov was forced to break with his Soviet life and emigrate, eventually establishing a new home in the United States.

Career

Since 1976 Gorlov has been teaching

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

in the

combining it with extensive research work in the area of harnessing renewable energy from water flows and wind. In the pursuit of his lifelong dream of creating inexpensive, environmentally friendly hydro-power, Gorlov has developed helical turbines for use in the river, tidal, and open ocean currents. His innovation has led to a series of patents for the

Gorlov Helical Turbine The Gorlov helical turbine (GHT) is a water turbine evolved from the Darrieus wind turbine, Darrieus turbine design by altering it to have Helix, helical blades/foils. It was patented in a series of patents from September 19, 1995''A. M. Gorlov' ...

which shows great promise for alleviating the worldwide crisis in energy use. This invention was named one of ''

Popular Science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

s top 100 innovations of 2001. One of the other Gorlov's inventions - "Terrorist Truck-Bomb Protection System" - is certified by four US patents and is placed on the US

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

list of certified equipment. That allows the system to be used for protection of vital Government installations such as nuclear power plants, military bases around the world, embassies, bridges and tunnels as well as other potential strategic targets from terrorist attacks. Gorlov has over 100 technical publications, including books, and 25 US and international patents in such fields as

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

structural analysis Structural analysis is a branch of Solid Mechanics which uses simplified models for solids like bars, beams and shells for engineering decision making. Its main objective is to determine the effect of loads on the physical structures and thei ...

& design,

theoretical mechanics Mechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, ''mēkhanikḗ'', "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to objects res ...

and the design of bridges and tunnels.

International engineering activity

*Bridges and tunnels (Russia, design and construction) *Hydro power plant on

Aswan Dam The Aswan Dam, or more specifically since the 1960s, the Aswan High Dam, is one of the world's largest embankment dams, which was built across the Nile in Aswan, Egypt, between 1960 and 1970. Its significance largely eclipsed the previous Aswan L ...

Project in River

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

(

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

) *Hydro power plants on rivers Khram, Langanury (

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

) and

Lake Sevan Lake Sevan ( hy, Սևանա լիճ, Sevana lich) is the largest body of water in both Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater high-altitude (alpine) lakes in Eurasia. The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, ...

(

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

) *Implementation of helical turbine for extracting tidal energy in

Uldolmok Strait The Myeongnyang Strait (also known as Uldolmok Strait; meaning Screaming Strait), just off the southwest corner of South Korea, separates Jindo Island from the mainland. It also separates the administrative district of Haenam County (on the ma ...

(

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

) and Chacao Channel

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Awards

*2001,

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...

Award by

ASME The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

for invention of the helical turbine. *2011, Nominated for the European Inventor Award for invention of the helical turbine.

Personal

Professor Alexander M. Gorlov was a resident of

Brookline Brookline may refer to: Places in the United States * Brookline, Massachusetts, a town near Boston * Brookline, Missouri * Brookline, New Hampshire * Brookline (Pittsburgh), a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Brookline, Vermont See ...

and Falmouth (both in

, USA), where he lived with his wife Ella who is a local historian.

Patents

*''A. M. Gorlov''
Apparatus for harnessing tidal power
Aug 1, 1978. *''A. M. Gorlov''
High volume tidal or current flow harnessing system
Aug 7, 1984. *''A. M. Gorlov''
Terrorist vehicle arresting system
July 26, 1988. *''A. M. Gorlov''
Friction reduction for terrorist vehicle arresting system
June 25, 1991. *''A. M. Gorlov''
Water gate array for current flow or tidal movement pneumatic harnessing system
Dec 24, 1991. *''A. M. Gorlov''
Shutter for hydro-pneumatic current flow harnessing system
June 29, 1993. *''A. M. Gorlov''
Unidirectional helical reaction turbine operable under reversible fluid flow for power systems
Sept. 19, 1995. *''B. L. Istorik, I. B. Chpolianski, A. M. Gorlov''
Unidirecional reaction turbine operable under reversible fluid from flow
Sept 19, 1995. *''A. M. Gorlov''
Helical turbine assembly operable under multidirectional fluid flow for power and propulsion systems
July 1, 1997. *''A. M. Gorlov''
Helical turbine assembly operable under multidirectional gas and water flow
Dec 5, 2000. *''A. M. Gorlov''
Method for maintaining flotation using a helical turbine assembly
July 3, 2001. *''A. M. Gorlov''
System for providing wind propulsion of a marine vessel using a helical turbine assembly
Sept 25, 2001.

Articles

* * * * * * * * * *

References

Nominees for the European Inventor Award 2011 announced

Alexander's Marvelous Machine

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110727003852/http://www.globalcoral.org/UNCSD%20SUMMARY.ppt Tidal Energybr>Gorlov's Helical TurbineGreen Energy Technologies Conference Materials
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorlov, Alexander 1931 births 2016 deaths American inventors Soviet emigrants to the United States American mechanical engineers People associated with electricity Engineers from Moscow Northeastern University faculty Fluid dynamicists