Vladimir Alekseevich Gastev

Born Sept. 26 (Oct. 8), 1891, in Efremov, in present-day Tula Oblast. Soviet scientist in the fields of construction design, strength of materials, and elasticity theory. Doctor of technical sciences (1939), Honored Worker in Science and Technology of the RSFSR (1961).

Gastev graduated from the University of St. Petersburg in 1912 and from the Institute of Railways in 1919. Since 1934 he has been a professor at the Leningrad Institute of Railway Transportation Engineers, and since 1943, at the Leningrad Engineering and Construction Institute. He is the author of the first course in the USSR on reinforced-concrete structures. His main works are in theoretical research on the strength of building structures, on elasticity theory, and on strength of materials. Gastev has produced numerous design works and examinations of many construction units of great importance. He has been awarded the Order of Lenin.