John T. Howe (1928-2022) was a mechanical engineer and former Chief Scientist at NASA Ames Research Center,

Moffett Field, California Moffett Federal Airfield , also known as Moffett Field, is a joint civil-military airport located in an unincorporated part of Santa Clara County, California, United States, between northern Mountain View and northern Sunnyvale. On November 10, ...

. He is known for his pioneering research contributions to the aerothermodynamics of atmospheric entry, including radiative energy transfer, reactive gas flows, and innovative thermal protection systems. John T. Howe received his B.S. from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1950 and his M.S. in 1956 and the degree of Engineer in 1958 from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, all in engineering mechanics. John also completed his post doctorate studies and continued research at

while working at SRI Stanford Research Institute. He taught Hypervelocity Atmospheric Flight and Real Gas Phenomena at Stanford University. After several years with Stanford Research Institute, he joined the Ames Laboratory of NASA. During his 35 years with

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 ...

, he served as Senior Staff Scientist, Head of Aerothermodynamics, Assistant Chief for the

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

Branch, and Branch Chief for

Fluid Dynamics In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) an ...

. He was a member of the AIAA

Thermophysics Thermophysics is the application of thermodynamics to geophysics and to planetary science more broadly. It may also be used to refer to the field of thermodynamic and transport properties. Remote sensing Earth thermophysics is a branch of geoph ...

Technical Committee (1982–84) and an Associate Editor for the ''Journal of

Spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...

and

Rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

s'' (1982–84). He is a recipient of the AIAA Thermophysics Award (1986) and a Fellow of AIAA.

References

American mechanical engineers Living people University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni Fellows of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Year of birth missing (living people) Stanford University School of Engineering alumni {{US-mechanical-engineer-stub