Georgii Iosifovich Pokrovskii

Born Mar. 31 (Apr. 13), 1901, in Kiev. Soviet scientist in physics; major general of the engineer corps. Honored Scientist and Technician of the RSFSR (1967). Member of the CPSU since 1950.

Pokrovskii graduated from Moscow University with a degree in economics in 1923. He taught at the Moscow Higher Technical School from 1925 and at the Moscow Institute of Structural Engineering from 1929. In 1932 he became a professor at the Military Engineering Academy, and in 1944 a professor at the N. E. Zhukovskii Air Force Engineering Academy. His main works deal with the physics of explosions, directed blasts, and miniature-scale centrifugal operations in mining and construction engineering. Pokrovskii is one of the designers of a dam to control mud-laden torrents built with the aid of directed blasting on the Malaia Almatinka River in 1966 and 1967 and of an irrigation dam on the Vakhsh River. For the latter he was awarded the State Prize of the USSR in 1971. He has been awarded four orders and various medals.