Remembering UIC Distinguished Professor Emeritus Faydor L. Litvin
On April 26, 2017, the scientific community of mechanical engineers worldwide lost a renowned scientist and educator who dedicated his life to the development of the modern theory of gearing and made enormous contributions to the development of the theory of mechanisms.
Professor Litvin had been recognized as an authority in kinematics and the theory of gearing. A whole epoch in the theory of gearing is concerned with the name of Professor Litvin. He is the author of one of the most fundamental and cited works in the field—a well-known monograph, The Theory of Gearing, which underwent six editions.
Born in Russia in 1914, Professor Litvin graduated from Leningrad Polytechnic Institute in 1937 with distinction. He defended his PhD in 1944, becoming a unique, self-educated PhD holder and later received his Doctor of Technical Science degree in 1954. From 1963, he served as department head and professor of mechanical engineering at the Institute of Precision Mechanics and Optics in Leningrad. He trained and supervised 100 PhD students (50 in Russia and, later, 50 in the U.S.) as well as visiting scholars from around the world. All of them went on to receive prominent teaching and research positions in the U.S., Italy, Spain, Russia, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, China, Taiwan, and Australia. With great pride, they consider themselves as belonging to the “elite school of Litvin".
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