Coanda, Henri-Marie, << kaw ahn DA, ahn REE ma REE >> (1886-1972), was a Romanian aviation pioneer, engineer, and inventor. He is best known for developing a disk-shaped craft based on what is now called the Coanda effect, the tendency of a fluid passing a curved surface to attach itself to the surface. This principle is used in a sensing and control technology called fluidics. Coanda also invented an airplane based on a jet-propulsion system and a device that uses the energy of the sun to convert salt water to fresh water. Coanda was born on June 7, 1886, in Bucharest, Romania. He died on November 25, 1972.
