In the New Year tradition we celebrate notable individuals who died the previous year. However, the news media tends to recognize generally famous actors and music performers (Inspirers the Soul). So, for the Engineers’ Coffee House Break Blog, we recognize famous Engineers (Creators of Real Things).
I personnel like David Needle, developer of Amiga 1000, who is one of the first to recognize the significance of the gaming industry through graphics and the need to multi-task. Ray Clough’s work on the development of finite element modeling technique is the corner stone for structural analysis today. In contrast to the development of Shell of Revolution that is technically more complicate but efficient and more accurate in determining thicker element’s deformation. For example Seal Shell, developed at the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory by C. M. Friedrich, September 1961 was used for the design of most U.S nuclear power plants. Finally, Wacław Zalewski a structural engineer who had the opportunity to build big and cool structures.
Note: Thanks to Wikipedia for the resource information that follows:
Some Famous Engineers’ Lost in 2016
Computers:
David Lewis Needle (1947 – February 20, 2016) was a key engineer and co-chief architect in the creation of the Amiga 1000 computer with Jay Miner, Dave Morse, and RJ Mical. He was one of the main designers and developers of the custom chips of the Amiga computer. Later he co-invented the Atari Lynx[1] and the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer with Dave Morse and RJ Mica.
Wesley Allison Clark (April 10, 1927 – February 22, 2016) was an American physicist who is credited for designing the first modern personal computer. He was also a computer designer and the main participant, along with Charles Molnar, in the creation of the LINC computer, which was the first minicomputer and shares with a number of other computers (such as the PDP-1) the claim to be the inspiration for the personal computer.
Rudolf (Rudi) Emil Kálmán (Hungarian: Kálmán Rudolf Emil; May 19, 1930 – July 2, 2016) was a Hungarian-born American electrical engineer, mathematician, and inventor. He was most noted for his co-invention and development of the Kalman filter, a mathematical algorithm that is widely used in signal processing, control systems, and guidance, navigation and control. For this work, U.S. President Barack Obama awarded Kálmán the National Medal of Science on October 7, 2009.
Ray William Clough, (July 23, 1920 – October 8, 2016), was Byron L. and Elvira E. Nishkian Professor of structural engineering in the department of civil engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and one of the founders of the finite element method (FEM). His article in 1956 was one of the first applications of this computational method. He coined the term “finite elements” in an article in 1960. He was born in Seattle.
Jay Wright Forrester (July 14, 1918 – November 16, 2016) was a pioneering American computer engineer and systems scientist. He was a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Forrester is known as the founder of system dynamics, which deals with the simulation of interactions between objects in dynamic systems
Environment:
Leonard “Lynn” L. Northrup Jr. (March 18, 1918 – March 24, 2016) was an American engineer who was a pioneer of the commercialization of solar thermal energy. Influenced by the work of Professor John Yellott, Dr. Maria Telkes, and Harry Tabor, Northrup’s company designed, patented, developed and manufactured some of the first commercial solar water heaters, solar concentrators, solar-powered air conditioning systems, solar power towers and photovoltaic thermal hybrid systems in the United States. The company he founded became part of ARCO Solar, which in turn became BP Solar, which became the largest solar energy company in the world. Northrup was a prolific inventor with 14 US patents.
Weapons of Mass Destruction:
Simon “Si” Ramo (May 7, 1913 – June 27, 2016) was an American engineer, businessman, and author. He led development of microwave and missile technology and is sometimes known as the father of the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). He also developed General Electric’s electron microscope. He has been partly responsible for the creation of two Fortune 500 companies, Ramo-Wooldridge (TRW after 1958) and Bunker-Ramo (now part of Honeywell).
Rolf Heinrich Sabersky (October 20, 1920 – October 24, 2016) was professor emeritus in mechanical engineering at Caltech. He worked with luminaries throughout his career including Apollo M. O. Smith and Theodore von Kármán at Aerojet. James Van Allan sought his expertise for the development of the Ajax and Bumblebee rocket programs.
Aeronautical or Just a Big Ass Airplane:
Joseph Frederick “Joe” Sutter (March 21, 1921 – August 30, 2016) was an American engineer for the Boeing Airplane Company and manager of the design team for the Boeing 747 under Malcolm T. Stamper, the head of the 747 project.[3] Smithsonian Air and Space Magazine has described Sutter as the “father of the 747”.
Hero:
Haakon Sørbye (16 March 1920 – 15 September 2016) was a Norwegian engineer and resistance member during World War II. He was a member of the radio group Skylark B during the war. After the war he was a professor at the Norwegian Institute of Technology.
Space Explorer:
Joseph Vincent Charyk (September 9, 1920 – September 28, 2016) was widely credited as the founder of the geosynchronous communications satellite industry. He was born in Canmore, Alberta in a Ukrainian family. Early in his career, Charyk consolidated the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Air Force, and United States Navy space programs into the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). He brought the first United States imagery satellite, CORONA, into operation and demonstrated signals intelligence technology from space. During his tenure, the NRO operated the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft and managed development of the A-12.
Raymond L. Heacock (January 9, 1928 – December
20, 2016) was an American engineer who spent his career at NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he worked on the Ranger program[1] in the 1960s and on the Voyager program in the 1970s and 1980s.[2][3][4] A Caltech engineering graduate, he was the winner of the James Watt International Medal for 1979.
Cool Cars:
Paul Rosche (1 April 1934 – 15 November 2016) was a German engineer known for his work at BMW. He is notable for designing the engines of a number of BMW’s high-performance models, including the M31 found in the BMW 2002 Turbo, the S14 for the E30 M3, the M12 for the 320i Turbo and the Brabham BT52, the M88 in the M1 and the S70/2 found in the V12 LMR and the McLaren F1.
Builder of Big Cool Things:
Wacław Piotr Zalewski (25 August 1917 – 29 December 2016) was a Polish construction engineer and designer, creator of innovative buildings such as Spodek in Katowice, “Supersam” in Warsaw from the roof of the structure funikularnej,[clarification needed] or train station in Katowice. He is Professor Emeritus of Structural Design at MIT.