In existographies, Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis (1772-1843) (IQ:180|#150) (SIG:9) (CR:35) was a French physicist, a student of the École Polytechnique, noted for []
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Work
In 1829, Coriolis, in his Calculation of the Effect of Machines, introduced what he called the "principle of the transmission of work", which states that the product of force times distance equals the work done:

$W = F d \,$

Coriolis, in his Calculation of the Effect of Machines, which has yet to receive an English translation, supposedly, employed the term “dynamode” (Ѻ)(Ѻ) for the quantity of force times distance, defining one dynamode as being the amount of “effect”, or work as we say presently, to lift an object of mass 1,009 kg by one meter into the air:

French engineer and mathematician Jean-Victor Poncelet, the commandant general of the École Polytechnique, and also professor of mechanics applied to machines (1824), thereafter, built on the logic of Coriolis and lectured successfully on the topic of work done by machines, wherein he used the word travail, which is French for "work", to signify Coriolis dynamode effect. [5]
 Examples “dynamode” (Ѻ)(Ѻ) of the Coriois principle of the transmission work, according to which whenever a force moves an body though unit distance work is done.

Poncelet, supposedly, was the first to acknowledge that the word “work” was brought in by Coriolis. [4] This, supposedly, was first formulation of the term "work", in a scientific sense.

Education
In 1808, Coriolis took the entrance exam for the École Polytechnique, placing second of all students entering that year. After graduation he entered the École de Ponts et Chaussees (School of Bridges and Roads) in Paris. [8]

½ factor
Supposedly, also in his Calculation on the Effect of Machines, according to several references, it was Coriolis who introduced the factor ½ in German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz’s 1686 vis viva for the sake of mathematical convenience. [2] Other references, however, claim that years prior, in 1811, Italian mathematician Joseph Lagrange used calculus to show that a factor of two is involved in the relationship "vis mortua" (potential energy) and "vis viva" (kinetic energy). [3]

Turning forces
Supposedly, in his 1835 paper Coriolis stated that: [6]

“Any particle moving in the northern hemisphere is deflected to the right; and to his left in the southern hemisphere.”

Hence, known well in urban folklore, toilets drain clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere. This has since come to be known as the Coriolis force. This phenomenon is that to which in 1885 Austrian physicist Ernst Mach would refer to as "turning tendencies" when discussing the circular movements of troops on dark nights, a precursor to human molecular spin. [7]

References
1. Coriolis, Gustave. (1829). Calculation on the Effect of Machines, or Considerations on the use of Motors and their Evaluation (Calcul de l'Effet des Machines, Ou Considerations sur l’emploi des Moteurs et sur Leur Evaluation). Paris.
2. Jammer, Max. (1957). Concepts of Force: a Study in the Foundations of Dynamics (pgs. 166-67). Harvard University Press.
3. George E. Smith. (2006). "The Vis Viva Dispute: A Controversy at the Dawn of Dynamics", Physics Today 59, Oct., Issue 10, pp 31-36.
4. (b) O I Franksen, “The virtual work principle - a unifying systems concept”, in Structures and operations in engineering and management systems, Trondheim, 1980 (Trondheim, 1981), 17-152.
(c) The contribution of Coriolis, Poncelet, and Navier to the the concept of “work” is examined in detail in: Grattan-Guinness, I. (1984). “Work for the workers : advances in engineering mechanics and instruction in France, 1800-1830, Ann. of Sci. 41 (1), 1-33.
5. Laider, Keith J. (1993). The World of Physical Chemistry (pg. 77). Oxford University Press.
6. Coriolis, G-G. (1835). “On the Equations of Motion of a System of Bodies” (“Sur les équations du mouvement relatif des systèmes de corps”, J. de l’Ecole Royale Polytechnique 15: 144-54.
7. Thims, Libb. (2007). Human Chemistry (Volume One), (section: Human molecular spin, pgs. 209-11). (preview), (Google books). Morrisville, NC: LuLu.
8. Aczel, Amir D. (2003). Pendulum (pg. 131). Simon and Schuster.

External links
Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis – Wikipedia.
Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis – MacTutor Biographies.