BSU Physics Professor Secures Second Patent

New Method Better Predicts Landing of Free Falling Objects

MEDIA CONTACT: Cassandra Robinson, crobinson@bowiestate.edu , 301-860-4336

(BOWIE, Md.) – Bowie State University physics professor Dr. Mikhail Goloubev is on a roll, securing his second patent for the university in just three years, this time for an electronic device incorporating his method for precise prediction of a projectile’s flight.  His new method may have proved useful in tracking the uncontrolled reentry of space debris that captured the world’s attention last month.

Dr. Goloubev’s invention, “Universal method for precise projectile flight prediction,” allows the easy, quick and accurate prediction of the time, location and speed of a capsule or its debris on any planet. He projects applications to address the challenges of rescue and recovery missions, military procedures, space travel, as well as falling space junk.

“If you know the parameters of a launch—where you launched it, how you launched it, the speed and direction—then you can say, ‘Well, this is where it's going to land,’” Dr. Goloubev explained. He added that users can also trace an object’s reverse trajectory to determine where and how it has to be launched in order to land in a desired location.

While he sees particular usefulness for the device in space exploration and hopes NASA will express interest in it, Dr. Goloubev is not limiting the patent’s potential and Bowie State’s ownership of it.

“The university can sell it or develop it. If there is interest, by all means, develop it” Goloubev said, smiling. “I'm not in business. I'm just a scientist. I designed it, and I patented it. After that, my role is very simple, just being an assistant to marketing gurus.”

Dr. Goloubev’s first patent was issued in 2018 with then-student collaborator Joshua Brown (’15) for a silent wind turbine, the university's first U.S. patent in more than a decade. He collaborated with an adjunct professor, Matsuichiro Shimizu, since 2015 to complete his latest patent in June of 2020.

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