[citation needed] He worked breaking horses, delivering packages by motorcycle, and teaching karate before enrolling at the University of Colorado in 1958, where his father taught.
At CU-Boulder, he did Phycomyces research for over twenty years, mainly on the avoidance and anemotropic responses, helical growth, and cell-wall mechanical properties.
His first important one, patented in 1990, was the Gamow bag enabling mountain climbers to avoid altitude sickness by raising the surrounding pressure.
Igor Gamow also worked in bionics, on an orthopedic knee brace that stores energy within a spring from the hamstring and redirects it to the quadriceps.
[citation needed] In September 2011, Gamow released an open letter addressing some misconceptions about events leading to his termination from the University of Colorado.