Int..l tteat Mass Tran.ffbr. Vol. 41, No. I. pp. 1 2, 1998
f7 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
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Alexander I. Leontiev on his 70th birthday

Twenty-fourth May 1997 was the 70th birthday ofAcademician Alexander Ivanovich Leontiev, a famous scientist in the field of thermophysics. In 1950
Alexander Leontiev graduated from Moscow Aviation Institute, and in 1963 he became a Doctor ofTechnical Sciences. A few years later, in 1965, hebecame a Full Professor. He was elected as a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences ofthe USSR in 1987 and in 1991 he was elected an
Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences(RAS).
Alexander Leontiev started his career, in 1950, as a
researcher in the Institute of Power Engineering,
named after G.M. Krzhizhanovsky. In 1959, hemoved to Novosibirsk Institute of Thermophysics,
Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, where
he worked as the Head of the Thermal Gas Dynamics
Laboratory. From 1968 until 1975, Professor Leontiev was the head of the laboratory in the Institute ofHigh Temperatures of Russian Academy of Sciences.
From 1979 to the present day, he is the head of theChair of Turbine Manufacture in Moscow State Technical University named after N,E. Bauman.
Professor Leontiev was one of the founders and oneof the first researchers of the Institute of Thermophysics. This 'Siberian stage' of his career was very

productive and fruitful. During this period he worked
closely with Academician S.S. Kutateladze and together they created the well-known asymptotic theoryof the turbulent boundary layer. This unique experimental foundation for the study of aerodynamics andheat and mass transfer in turbulent flows wasdeveloped under their leadership in the Institute ofThermophysics. Students of Alexander I. Leontiev
have continued wide-ranging fundamental investigations of complex turbulent flows, confirming many
conclusions of the asymptotic theory.
Professor Leontiev is one of the world-leading
specialists in the field of the heat and mass transfer
theory on permeable surfaces. For the first time, hepredicted and described in theory, and then confirmed
experimentally, the repulsion (i.e. blow-off) regimesof the boundary layer on permeable surfaces. This was
the background for the development of new scientificdirections in different fields of heat and mass transfer
theory. His formulations are widely used for calculating porous cooling, burning of thermal insulation, cooling system of gas turbines, and other power
installations. For his outstanding contribution to film
cooling Professor Leontiev was awarded the State
Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of scienceand technique in 1988. Monographs of S.S. Kut-2V.E. Nakoryakov et al.

ateladze and Professor Leontiev on the theory of theturbulent boundary layer were very popular in theUSSR. They were published in U.K. and U.S.A. andreceived world-wide recognition.
Professor Leontiev successfully used the methodsof the theory of the boundary layer for the analysis ofheat and mass transfer processes in channels of MHDinstallations and vapor-generating atomic and fossil
energy plants, in gas turbine installations, in survival
systems, and in the design of new apparatus for themicrobiological synthesis. In 1987, he was awarded
the Polzunov Price of the Academy of Sciences of
USSR for the development of basic principles used in
the design of two-phase heat removal systems invapor-generating channels.
Professor Leontiev has created a large thermophysical school in the field of new power technology. Many of his students are working in different
cities and countries of the former U.S.S.R. He is anoutstanding lecturer. For more than 40 years he hasdelivered lectures in the Moscow Forestry Engineering Institute, Novosibirsk State University andMoscow State Technical University named after N.E.
Bauman.
In addition to this outstanding teaching andresearch, Academician Leontiev has made other significant contributions to his profession. He is theChairman of the National Committee on Heat andMass Transfer of the Russian Academy of Sciences,the deputy academician-secretary of the Departmentof the Physical-Technical Problems of Power Engineering of the RAS, the Chairman of Heat and MassTransfers section of Scientific Council of the RAS, amember of several scientific and technical councils, amember of the Executive Committee of the International Center of Heat and Mass Transfer, a memberof the editorial board of some Russian and International thermophysical journals including the 'International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer ~.
From the afore-mentioned it is clear that Alexanderlvanovich is highly intelligent. He also has a cheerfuldisposition and a love of life. As a result of thesequalities and his enthusiasm for scientific research
Professor Leontiev continues to attract outstanding
young students.
Alexander lvanovich meets his 70th anniversary fullof plans and new ideas. We wish him good luck intheir realization, strong health and continued success.
V. E. NAKORYAKOVS. V. ALEKSEENKO
N. V. MEDVETSKAYA
I. L. MOSTINSKI
M. I. OSIPOV
E. P. VOLCHKOV
JU. A. ZEIGAVNIK
J. P. HARTNETT