KARMAN, THEODORE VON 1881-1963

ENGINEER DYNAMICIST

The Road to California

Theodore von Karman, born to a middle-class Jewish family, grew up in Budapest, Hungary. By the time he was six it was discovered that he had a gift for mathematics, able to calculate multiplications instantly and develop solutions to factor problems. His father, afraid that his son would waste his resources on pointless arithmetic tricks, ordered him to drop any interest in the subject for several years and to concentrate on the parental curriculum, which included history, geography, literature, and the study of six languages. By the time he was allowed to return to his mathematical interest, he had lost the capacity to calculate rapidly, and even when he regained some of it, the skill remained restricted to operations in Hungarian. In the meantime he developed an early interest in dynamics and applied mechanics, but when the time came to enroll in a university program he chose engineering rather than the sciences on the advice of his father. Graduating from Royal Joseph University in Budapest, Karman then served in the army before undertaking studies at Gottingen, Germany. Then followed various teaching posts and a directorship of the Aeronautical Institute at Aachen. Karman met Robert Millikan at a scientific conference in 1924 and two years later agreed to visit the California Institute of Technology for a few months. In December 1929, following negotiations, Karman immigrated with his mother and sister to the United States.

Building the Aeronautics Field,

Karman was given the task of making the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory and wind tunnel there a leader in the field in order to draw aeronautical industries, and therefore financial support, to southern California. One of the early successes of wind-tunnel research under Karman involved testing models of the Douglas Commercial aircraft models DC-1, DC-2, and DC-3, Less successful because of circumstances beyond his control, Karman*'s study of weather turbulence and stresses came too late to help the U.S. Navy's rigid-airship program, despite efforts to establish a research center, with a special wind tunnel, in Akron, Ohio. Of great importance was Karman's devising of a formula that explained systematically the impact of molecules on hard surfaces. The Karman law of turbulence, established in 1930, had great consequences for the future design of airships, airplanes, and rockets. In addition to his research, Karman taught a small group of students enrolled at the California Institute of Technology, usually applying the tutorial method to encourage the free flow of ideas. At formal lectures—he believed that, contrary to common college practice, prestigious professors should teach undergraduate classes rather than just graduate seminars—he would fascinate his students with intricate yet clear solutions to various problems.

Moving On to Rocketry

In the late 1930s Karman supported a group of California Institute of Technology students interested in rocketry. Attempts at cooperation with pioneer rocket scientist Robert Goddard had failed, so it was his influence that allowed the group to carry on its experiments, which had varying degrees of success. He even had the basement of the California Institute of Technology opened to the young scientists, although he almost regretted it when poisonous fumes escaped through the building. Nevertheless, standing by what became known as the Suicide Club bore fruit. He had made the acquaintance of Hap Arnold, who was to become a leader of the American air effort in World War II. Arnold eventually became interested in the use of rocketry as applied to "jet-assisted takeoff (JATO) for airplanes, and by 1939 the first tests were under way.

Putting America Ahead

Karman's work was so influential that, as General Arnold later put it, "it showed the military that a college professor was good for something." The training he provided students at the California Institute of Technology, as well as the information he made available to aeronautical scientists throughout the world, was substantial, and the risks he took with rocket science allowed the United States to start its space program. Not only did the impact of his work continue into the 1960s, but its quality easily justified his receiving the first National Medal of Science in 1963, shortly before his death.