| (1881-1963), Hungarian-born U.S. engineer, was an aeronautical pioneer known for his use of mathematics and basic sciences and founder of the U.S. Institute of Aeronautical Sciences (now AIAA). He was invited 1930 to direct the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (which later became NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab) and became a U.S. citizen in 1936. He made significant contributions in the areas of fluid mechanics, turbulence theory, supersonic flight, mathematics in engineering, aircraft structures, and wind erosion of soil. Together with Frank J. Malina, he designed the prototype for modern rocketry used today in long-range missiles. He participated in several other major contributions to U.S. rocketry, some of which were used in the Apollo modules some 25 years later. He also led international cooperative efforts through the United Nations in 1947, NATO in 1951, the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences in 1956 and the International Academy of Astronautics in 1960. A crater on the moon carries his name (1970). He was born May 11, 1881, Budapest, and died May 6, 1963, Aachen, Germany.
Vitruvius, in full Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (first century BCE, before common era), Roman engineer, authored a celebrated treatise De architectura (On Architecture), based on his own work as well as Greek architects and including topics such as hydraulics, clocks, and civil and military engines. |
