Rabotnov, Iurii Nikolaevich

Born Feb. 11 (24), 1914, in Nizhny Novgorod, now Gorky. Soviet scientist in the field of mechanics. Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1958; corresponding member, 1953). Member of the CPSU since 1951.

Rabotnov graduated from Moscow State University in 1935. From 1935 to 1941 and from 1943 to 1947 he taught at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute. Between 1941 and 1943 he was a staff member at the All-Union Electrotechnical Institute. From 1947 to 1957 he worked at the Institute of Mechanics of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, and from 1958 to 1965 at the Institute of Hydrodynamics of the Siberian Division of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. He has been a professor in the mechanics and mathematics department at Moscow State University since 1947.

Rabotnov’s main works are on the theory of shells, the theory of creep and plasticity, the mechanics of fracture, and the dynamics of plastic media. Rabotnov constructed a class of special operators that are used in the theory of viscoelasticity and studied the mechanism of delayed fracture in a corrosive medium and at high temperatures. He also developed equipment for studying creep in materials. His works on the theory of creep are used in designing disks and rotors for turbines and in investigating starting conditions in turbines and compressors.

Rabotnov has been awarded the Order of the October Revolution, two other orders, and various medals.