Valery V. Vasiliev, D.Sc., a Member (Academician) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, is the leading Russian expert in design of composite structures. As vice president of the Russian Committee on Mechanics of Composite Structures since 1973, he has been involved in basic programs in composite technology for aero-space, marine, transportation, and machinery applications and was awarded two Russian State Prizes for those activities. He has worked in analysis, design, and manufacturing of composite pressure vessels since 1963. His 1969 Doctor of Sciences degree from Moscow Aviation Institute was for design and analysis of filament-wound rocket motor cases. He is the author, co-author, or editor of 16 books, handbooks, and textbooks—half in Russian and half in English—as well as over 300 papers. In the present field, he has authored design guides, monographs, and numerous papers devoted to the development of composite pressure vessels, mainly for aerospace, and recently for commercial applications. He was a Distinguished Professor at Moscow Aviation Technology University where he was Head of the School of Applied Mechanics within which he was also Head of the Aerospace Composite Structures Department. He was a visiting professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Purdue University, and Pierre and Marie Curie University. He is now Chief Science Researcher at the Institute on Problems of Mechanics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.