Marble, Frank E. (Frank Earl)

Dates

• Existence: 1918 - 2014

Biographical/Historical

Background: Aeronautical Engineer, Caltech Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Jet Propulsion, 1948-1989 (Emeritus, 1989-2014). Caltech alumnus (MS, 1942; AE, 1947; PhD, 1948).

Biographical/Historical

Description: Frank E. Marble received his bachelor of science degree in 1940 and his master's degree in 1942, both from the Case Institute of Technology. He then came to Caltech and earned an engineer's degree in 1947 and a PhD in 1948, with Professor Theodore von Kármán as his advisor. He was hired at Caltech in 1948 as an instructor in aeronautics, became assistant professor of jet propulsion and mechanical engineering in 1949, associate professor in 1953, professor in 1957, and was named Hayman Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Professor of Jet Propulsion in 1980. He retired in 1989. Marble made major contributions to aerodynamics, combustion, and propulsion, specifically the research and development of gas turbines and rockets. He also was responsible for the training of several generations of scientists in the field of aeronautics. A member of both the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences, Marble received many honors for his contributions, including the 1999 Daniel Guggenheim Medal, awarded by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and the AIAA Combustion Award.

Biographical/Historical

Collection Notes: Oral History 1994. This interview of 139 pages with Shirley K. Cohen covers family and education, work in 1940s at NACA (predecessor to NASA); graduate study and eventual professorial appointment at Caltech; work with Von Karman and others in aeronautics; case of Tsien Hsue-shen; research and engineering at Caltech and JPL over the years; interest in flying.

Found in 7 Collections and/or Records: