Rustem Igor Gamow (November 4, 1935, in

Georgetown, D.C. Georgetown is a historic neighborhood, and commercial and entertainment district located in Northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751 in the Province of Maryland, the port of Georgetown predated the establish ...

– April 15, 2021)Gamow, George: ''My World Line: An Informal Autobiography'', The Viking Press, New York, 1970, page 106. was a

microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, ...

professor at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

and

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

. His best known inventions included the Gamow bag and the Shallow Underwater Breathing Apparatus. He was fired from CU in 2004 following sexual harassment and assault charges.

Early life and education

Rustem Igor Gamow was the son of Russian émigré

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

George Gamow George Gamow (March 4, 1904 – August 19, 1968), born Georgiy Antonovich Gamov ( uk, Георгій Антонович Гамов, russian: Георгий Антонович Гамов), was a Russian-born Soviet and American polymath, theoret ...

and Lyubov Vokhmintseva "Rho" Gamow. Finishing high school at age 17, he joined the National Ballet Company. He worked breaking horses, delivering packages by motorcycle, and teaching

karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fuj ...

before enrolling at the

in 1958, where his father taught. Igor Gamow received a B.A. and M.S. in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

, and a Ph.D. in

biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...

, all at University of Colorado.

Research

Gamow worked on

Phycomyces blakesleeanus ''Phycomyces blakesleeanus'' is a filamentous fungus in the Order Mucorales of the phylum Zygomycota or subphylum Mucoromycotina. The spore-bearing sporangiophores of ''Phycomyces'' are very sensitive to different environmental signals includin ...

during

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

under

Max Delbrück Max Ludwig Henning Delbrück (; September 4, 1906 – March 9, 1981) was a German–American biophysicist who participated in launching the molecular biology research program in the late 1930s. He stimulated physical scientists' interest int ...

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

. At CU-Boulder, he did ''

Phycomyces ''Phycomyces'' is a genus of fungus in the Zygomycota phylum. They are known for their strong phototropism response and helical growth of the sporangium. The best studied species is ''Phycomyces blakesleeanus''. Asexual reproduction ''Phycomyce ...

'' research for over twenty years, mainly on the avoidance and anemotropic responses, helical growth, and cell-wall mechanical properties. He also studied the infrared-detectors of the

Boa constrictor The boa constrictor (scientific name also ''Boa constrictor''), also called the red-tailed boa, is a species of large, non-venomous, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the family B ...

. An avid outdoorsman, Gamow developed a number of inventions for safety in outdoor activities. His first important one, patented in 1990, was the Gamow bag enabling mountain climbers to avoid

altitude sickness Altitude sickness, the mildest form being acute mountain sickness (AMS), is the harmful effect of high altitude, caused by rapid exposure to low amounts of oxygen at high elevation. People can respond to high altitude in different ways. Sympt ...

by raising the surrounding pressure.

Sir Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached ...

, the first expedition leader to summit

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow hei ...

, wrote him in congratulation. Another was the Shallow Underwater Breathing Apparatus ("SUBA"), a pressurized snorkel system permitting swimmers to breathe easily as deep as ten feet under water. Igor Gamow also worked in

bionics Bionics or biologically inspired engineering is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. The word ''bionic'', coined by Jack E. Steele in August 1 ...

, on an

orthopedic Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

knee brace that stores energy within a spring from the

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupe ...

and redirects it to the

quadriceps The quadriceps femoris muscle (, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large ...

Patents

* — Hyperbaric chamber * — Hyperbaric chamber * — Underwater breathing apparatus * — Hyperbaric chamber closure means * — Shoe and foot prosthesis with a coupled spring system * — Hyperbaric chamber and exercise environment * — Hypobaric sleeping chamber * — In-line skate walking guard * — Shoe and foot prosthesis with bending beam spring structures * — Underwater breathing apparatus with pressurized snorkel * — Shoe and foot prosthesis with bending beam spring structures

Termination at CU

In 2002, a former assistant of Gamow's filed a lawsuit against the university alleging sexual harassment and sexual assault from seven women. After the lawsuit was filed, the university began to take steps to terminate Gamow. In 2004 the CU Board of Regents unanimously upheld the recommendation to dismiss Gamow for "moral turpitude". Gamow filed a lawsuit against CU in an attempt to be reinstated. In May 2006, CU lost a lawsuit that had been filed by Gamow's former assistant and was ordered to pay her $285,000 plus attorney's fees. In September 2011, Gamow released a
open letter
addressing some misconceptions about events leading to his termination from the University of Colorado.

References

External links

Gamow's personal homepage
August 23, 2003

August 18, 2006
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
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 Gamow take four hours of sexual-harassment training
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
Open Letter to the Editor of the Boulder Daily Camera
Igor Gamow, January 2007
Obituary - 2021
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gamow, Igor 1935 births 2021 deaths American chemical engineers University of Colorado faculty University of Colorado Boulder faculty American inventors People from Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)