Ishlinskii, Aleksandr

Born July 24 (Aug. 6), 1913, in Moscow. Soviet scientist in mechanics; academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1960) and the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR (1948), Hero of Socialist Labor (1961). Member of the Communist Party since 1940. Graduated from Moscow University in 1935 and became a professor there in 1944. He was the director of the Institute of Mathematics of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR from 1948 to 1955 and since 1964 has been director of the Institute of Problems of Mechanics.

Ishlinskii’s main work has been concerned with the theories of elasticity, plasticity, vibrations, and gyroscopes. He studied the principles of rolling friction on a deformable base (1938), developed an original theory of dynamic stability (1949) and a general theory of plasticity with linear hardening (1954), and proposed a new concept of deformation of the ground during an explosion (1954). He also studied the problems of shock absorption for instruments during sudden deceleration (1957), developed the theory of the space gyrocompass and other gyroscopic instruments (1952–), and conducted important research on the general theory of inertial navigation and autonomous control (1957–). He has been chairman of the All-Union Council of Scientific and Technical Societies (1970) and vice-president of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (1971). He has received the Lenin Prize (1960) and has been awarded two Orders of Lenin, two other orders, and medals.