site.btaBulgarian Oceanologist with Inventions of Miniature Device for Saving People, Ships – Trayanov

A miniature device for rescuing people and ships in distress, and obtaining electricity from the energy of sea waves are among the inventions of the famous Bulgarian oceanologist engineer Trayan Trayanov (1944-2023). His scientific interests were related to oceanographic measurements and instruments, underwater research and technology, underwater photography and patent work. Underwater archaeology was his hobby.

Trayanov was a Bulgarian inventor with numerous legally protected inventions in the field of oceanography and studies of the physical parameters of water basins, the measurement and registration of sea waves and the measurement of the temperature-depth profile of the marine environment, the Patent Office told BTA..

Trayanov began his activity from the Institute of Fish Resources and after the establishment of the Institute of Oceanology (IO) at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) in 1973. His scientific activity as an engineer was tied to many of the physical and hydrodynamic processes in the marine environment, but he was also a diver. Trayanov was one of the participants in an experiment with a ship for a long time in a bathyscaphe that was in the Black Sea, Assoc. Prof. Kremena Stefanova, Deputy Director of the Institute of Oceanology at BAS, told BTA.

Trayanov's patents are related to the creation of various equipment for collecting samples in the sea, for zooplankton nets and for artificial reefs. He also worked with an apparatus that investigated underwater currents in the sea, she said, adding that he worked at the institute until his retirement.

Trayanov was also in the Oceanology and Marine Sciences Section at the Union of Scientists in Bulgaria and headed this section. 

The oceanologist studied the diurnal variations of temperature, salinity of sea water, speed and direction of sea currents in Burgas Bay. He was involved in the recording of pulsations in the rise of the hydrogen sulphide zone in the Black Sea, methods for ecological monitoring of the seabed, and a method and device for measuring flow rates of natural underwater gas vents.

Trayanov designed a mini-unit for search and rescue of ships and people in distress. The oceanologist then said that the GPS could be attached to the clothing of any survivor in distress and would be able to save their lives in a possible marine incident. The apparatus is small, about the size of an ordinary mobile phone. It is a compilation between a classic GPS and a microradio transmitter. That's what rescuers need. The GPS receives signals from various satellites and forwards the signal to the radio transmitter, which is transformed into a short message about the name of the ship in distress, the number of crew, the coordinates and a call for help. This message is broadcast and can be received anywhere: in any rescue coordination centre, rescue boat and helicopter, the oceanologist explained.

The scientist was also the author of a revolutionary technology for Bulgaria, enabling the production of electricity from the energy of sea waves. The idea belonged to Trayanov and the team that developed it included scientists from the Institute of Oceanology.

The project was developed in two main directions. The first is related to the current European trend of moving wind farms offshore. 

The second part of the project elaborated the technology for extracting electricity from the energy of sea waves.

According to Trayanov, the electricity generated can be fed to the power grid or used for desalination of sea water. The resulting electricity can be used for lighting, heating or for the dissociation of seawater into oxygen and hydrogen required for the new hydrogen cell engines. 

"The future lies with hydrogen as an extremely clean fuel. Its combustion releases only water vapour and no oxides," the inventor said years ago. 

The oceanologist is also the author of the book Lessons in Audacity, in which he says that the sea is like a living organism.

Lessons in Audacity is the first book by Trayanov. It is dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the Institute of Oceanology and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Underwater Sports section of the Varna Marine Club.

Along with awards for inventions, the oceanographer also won medals in underwater sports. 

He was the author of more than 100 scientific and popular scientific articles and reports, presented in Bulgaria and abroad.

In 1981 he was awarded a Badge of Honour for his services as an inventor by the Committee for Science, Technical Progress and Higher Education, and by the Central Council of Bulgarian Trade Unions.

On July 28, 2010 Trayan Trayanov received the Golden Icarus Award for his inventions, the highest award of the Bulgarian Patent Office. By a decision of 2009 the Patent Office recognized a patent for the invention "Device for marking floating and drifting automatic carriers of oceanographic equipment or people in distress at sea". He has 21 patents in total. 

Trayanov was a member of the editorial boards of the Newsletter of the Union of Scientists in Varna, series "Technical Sciences" and series "Medicine and Ecology". He was a member of the Union of Scientists and the Federation of Scientific and Technical Unions in Varna.

Trayanov is the author of a number of rationalizations and inventions, registered from 1973 until 1985, as well as patents, among which Underwater Gas Well Injection Device and Artificial Reef Block and Method for Its Construction.

This article was written within the framework of a partnership initiative between BTA and the Bulgarian Patent Office (BPO) which envisages the presentation of Bulgarians listed in the Golden Book of BPO and the activities of the BPO in a joint weekly column entitled "Created in Bulgaria".