INVENTOR of the MONTH

Meredith Gourdine: Electrogasdynamics

Meredith Gourdine was born on September 26, 1929, in Livingston, New Jersey. He grew up in New York City, where he attended a Catholic elementary school in Harlem.

Gifted in mathematics and science, Gourdine earned a scholarship to Cornell University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics in 1953. He was also captain of Cornell’s track team and won a silver medal for the long jump at the 1953 Olympics in Helsinki. Gourdine was awarded a Ph.D. in engineering science from the California Institute of Technology in 1960.

Gourdine’s employment history includes technical staff member of Ramo-Woolridge Corpation (1957— 58); senior research scientist for the Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory (1958—60); lab director for the Pladmodyne Laborator (1960—62), and chief scientist of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation (1962—64). In 1964, Gourdine started his own company, Gourdine Laboratories, in Livingston, New Jersey, with a staff of 150.

Gourdine was highly respected for his pioneering work in electrogasdynamics, the generation of energy from the motion of gas molecules that have been electrically charged under high pressure. From this technology, Gourdine received patents for incineraid, which helps remove smoke from burning buildings. He also patented technology used for circuit breakers, acoustic imaging, air monitors, paint-coating systems, and a method for cooling computer chips.

When Gourdine died on November 20, 1998, he was president of Energy Innovation Inc., of Houston.

View Archive