John D. Anderson Jr. (born October 1, 1937) is the Curator of Aerodynamics at the
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...
at the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, Professor Emeritus in the Department of
Aerospace Engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...
at the
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...
.
Biography
John D. Anderson Jr. was born on October 1, 1937 in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...
. He enrolled at the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
in
Gainesville in approximately 1953. In 1959, he earned a bachelor's degree in
Aeronautical Engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: Aeronautics, aeronautical engineering and Astronautics, astronautical engineering. A ...
with high honors. In 1959, he was hired by the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
to become a Task Scientist at the
Aerospace Research Laboratory,
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...
in
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
. He stayed in that position until 1962, when he enrolled at
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
in
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
under fellowships from the
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...
and
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
. In 1966, Anderson earned his
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Ohio State. That same year, he joined the United States
Naval Ordnance Laboratory
The Naval Ordnance Laboratory (NOL) was a facility in the White Oak area of Montgomery County, Maryland. It is now used as the headquarters of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Origins
The U.S. Navy Mine Unit, later the Mine Laboratory at t ...
in
White Oak, Maryland
White Oak is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 16,347 in 2020.
White Oak was known for its Naval Ordnance Laboratory, which was closed in 1994. The headquar ...
, becoming the Chief of the Hypersonic Group.
In 1973, Anderson joined the faculty of the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
, becoming Chairman of the Department of Aerospace Engineering. He became Professor of Aerospace Engineering in 1980, serving in that capacity until 1999, when he retired and was named
professor emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
. He also served as an affiliate member of the History Department at UMD. The John Anderson Scholarship Fund was established in Anderson's honor in 2000 by the
A. James Clark School of Engineering
The A. James Clark School of Engineering is the engineering college of the University of Maryland, College Park. The school consists of fourteen buildings on the College Park campus that cover over . The school is near Washington, D.C. and Balti ...
jointly with the Department of Aerospace Engineering.
Anderson was elected as a member into the
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...
for aerospace engineering and history textbooks and for contributions to hypersonic gas dynamics.
He is currently the Curator of Aerodynamics at the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
's
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...
.
Books
*''Gas Dynamic Lasers: An Introduction'',
Academic Press
Academic Press (AP) is an academic book publisher founded in 1941. It was acquired by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1969. Reed Elsevier bought Harcourt in 2000, and Academic Press is now an imprint of Elsevier.
Academic Press publishes reference ...
(1976), and under
McGraw-Hill
McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes referenc ...
*''Introduction to Flight'', McGraw-Hill, 1st edition (1978), 2nd edition, (1985), 3rd edition (1989), 4th edition (2000), 5th edition (2005), 6th edition (2008), 7th edition (2011), 8th edition (2015), 9th edition (2021)
*''Modern Compressible Flow'', McGraw-Hill, 1st edition (1982), 2nd edition (1990), 3rd edition (2002)
*''Fundamentals of Aerodynamics'', 1st edition (1984), 2nd edition (1991), 3rd edition (2001), 4th edition (2006), 5th edition (2010), 6th edition (2017)
*''Hypersonic and High Temperature Gas Dynamics'', 1st edition (1989), 2nd edition (2000), 2nd revised edition (2006)
*''Computational Fluid Dynamics: The Basics with Applications'', McGraw-Hill (1995)
*''A History of Aerodynamics and Its Impact on Flying Machines'',
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
(1997)
*''Aircraft Performance and Design'', McGraw-Hill (1999)
*''The Airplane: A History of Its Technology'',
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...
(2002)
*''Inventing Flight: The Wright Brothers and Their Predecessors'',
Johns Hopkins University Press
The Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publi ...
(2004)
*''X-15: The World's Fastest Rocket Plane and the Pilots Who Ushered in the Space Age'',
Zenith Press
The Quarto Group is a global illustrated book publishing group founded in 1976. It is domiciled in the United States and listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Quarto creates and sells illustrated books for adults and children, across 50 countri ...
(2014)
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, John D.
1937 births
Living people
20th-century American engineers
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American engineers
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
Aerodynamicists
American aerospace engineers
American engineering writers
American curators
American male non-fiction writers
American science writers
Engineering educators
Engineers from Pennsylvania
Fluid dynamicists
Historians of science
Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering
Ohio State University College of Engineering alumni
University of Florida College of Engineering alumni
University of Maryland, College Park faculty
Writers from Lancaster, Pennsylvania