William B. Morgan is an American

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture occupations Design occupations Architecture, Occupations ...

and renowned expert in

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

design.

Early life and education

Morgan was born in

Mount Pleasant, Iowa Mount Pleasant is a city in and the county seat of Henry County, Iowa. The population was 9,274 in the 2020 census, an increase from 8,668 in the 2010 census. It was founded in 1835 by pioneer Presley Saunders. History The first permanent s ...

. He earned a Master of Science degree in mechanics and hydraulics 1951 from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

and a PhD in naval architecture from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, in 1961.

Career

Morgan devoted his professional career to the Carderock Division (

David Taylor Model Basin The David Taylor Model Basin (DTMB) is one of the largest ship model basins—test facilities for the development of ship design—in the world. DTMB is a field activity of the Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center. Hist ...

Naval Surface Warfare Center * A Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) is part of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) operated by the United States Navy. NAVSEA Warfare Centers supply the technical operations, people, technology, engineering services and products needed t ...

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

. Morgan started working with

UNIVAC I The UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic Computer I) was the first general-purpose electronic digital computer design for business application produced in the United States. It was designed principally by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, the invento ...

and

UNIVAC II The UNIVAC II computer was an improvement to the UNIVAC I that the UNIVAC division of Sperry Rand first delivered in 1958. The improvements included the expansion of core memory from 2,000 to 10,000 words; UNISERVO II tape drives, which could us ...

computers in 1954. He introduced computers into

naval engineering Naval architecture, or naval engineering, is an engineering discipline incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the engineering design process, shipbuilding, maintenance, and o ...

and thereby revolutionized propeller design. He published numerous studies of sub-cavitating, super-cavitating, and contra-rotating propellers; annular airfoil and ducted propeller theory; propeller blade strength; hydrodynamic properties of blade sections; and propeller cavitation, ventilation and noise. Perhaps most significantly, he led development of the highly skewed propeller with its superior vibration and acoustic properties. Morgan ultimately was named head of the hydromechanics directorate, David Taylor Model Basin, responsible for all hydromechanic research concerning

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

ships and submarines, and managing three hundred employees, a $70 million budget and Navy testing facilities estimated at almost $2 billion nationwide. He directed the acquisition of major facilities including the Maneuvering and Seakeeping Basin, Rotating Arm, 36-inch Variable Pressure Water Tunnel, and the Large Cavitation Channel (now named in his honor). Morgan was given numerous awards from national and international technical societies, academia, and the Navy. He is the only U.S. citizen to receive the William Froude Medal from the

Royal Institute of Naval Architects The Royal Institution of Naval Architects (also known as RINA) is an international organisation representing naval architects. It is an elite international professional institution based in London. Its members are involved worldwide at all levels ...

. In 1992, he was elected a member of 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 technical leadership improving performance, quieting, and design of advanced marine propulsion systems, and development of large modern propulsion testing facilities. In 1997 was awarded the

Gibbs Brothers Medal The Gibbs Brothers Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences for "outstanding contributions in the field of naval architecture and marine engineering". It was established by a gift from William Francis Gibbs and Frederic Herbert ...

by the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, William B. Morgan, William B. Engineers from Iowa Living people Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering American marine engineers Year of birth missing (living people)