http://info.arnold.af.mil/aedc/karman.htm -------------------- <BASE HREF="http://info.arnold.af.mil/aedc/karman.htm"> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML//EN"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 3.0"> <title>von Karman</title> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <p><img src="images/vkarman.jpg" alt="vkarman.jpg (18557 bytes)" WIDTH="594" HEIGHT="246"><br> Dr. Theodore von Karman is considered to be one of the great aeronautical scientists of the twentieth century.</p> <p>Von Karman was born in Budapest and spent most of his life as a science teacher in Europe and the United States.</p> <p>Von Karman's contributions to the scientific community were significant and continue to have impact on modern testing technologies.</p> <p>He developed many theories of aeronautical and space science, such as the effects of forces and currents on aircraft and spacecraft. He was instrumental in developing supersonic aircraft and Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles.</p> <p>Von Karman was also involved in the practical side of developmental breakthroughs in aviation. He helped develop the world's largest rocket corporation, the Aerojet-General Corporation. He was also instrumental in founding the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to develop rocket propulsion.</p> <p>He was also responsible for the establishment of AGARD, the aeronautical research arm of NATO, serving as the organization's first chairman.</p> <p>But the contribution to science and engineering that stands out most in the minds of Middle Tennesseans is von Karman's role in the establishment of the Arnold Engineering Development Center.</p> <p><a href="hap.htm">General Arnold</a> requested von Karman to design a 20-foot, 40,000-horsepower wind tunnel for Wright Field in 1939. This was the first facility of its kind, necessary for the Air Corps to make major advances in flight.</p> <p>In 1944, at General Arnold's request, von Karman established a scientific advisory group to "develop a blueprint for air research for the next twenty, thirty, perhaps fifty years."</p> <p>In the spring of 1945, von Karman sent a group of scientists to Europe to question German scientists and engineers about their rapid progress in aviation during the war. Of great importance were their visits to the BMW aircraft engine factor in Munich, the Aerodynamic Laboratory formerly at Peemunde, and Oetztal, a site in the Tyrolian Alps, where the world's most powerful wind tunnel was then under construction.</p> <p>In December 1945, Dr. von Karman's group presented their findings in a report they called, <a href="horizons.htm">Toward New Horizons</a>, which laid out a blueprint for an Air Force research and development facility. According to von Karman, the report "looked at the basic scientific potential which could change the future."</p> <p>Von Karman's proposal for a center for the study and development of jet propulsion, supersonic aircraft and ballistic missiles became a reality in Middle Tennessee.</p> <p>In 1959 the AEDC <a href="factsheets/vkf/vkf.html" target="_top">Gas Dynamics Facility</a> was renamed after Dr. von Karman, then chief scientific advisor to the Air Force.</p> <p>Dr. Theodore von Karman was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in July 1983, for his outstanding contributions to aviation and space technology his theoretical studies and practical applications of aerodynamics to improve aircraft performance and his development and utilization of rocketry in creating weapons of defense.</p> <blockquote> <p><!--webbot bot="ImageMap" rectangle="(0,0) (56,14) index.htm##_top" src="images/home.gif" border="0" startspan --><MAP NAME="FrontPageMap"><AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="0, 0, 56, 14" HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top"></MAP><a href="_vti_bin/shtml.dll/karman.htm/map"><img ismap usemap="#FrontPageMap" border="0" height="15" src="images/home.gif" width="57"></a><!--webbot bot="ImageMap" endspan i-checksum="62885" --></p> </blockquote> </body> </html>
