Melvin B. Zisfein (1926–1995) was an aircraft designer and a Deputy Director of the U.S. National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. Zisfein graduated from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

with degrees 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: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is sim ...

(B.S. 1948; M.S. 1948) and worked as a designer, aerodynamicist, and manager for aircraft companies from then until 1966. He was associate director of the

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...

Research Laboratories from 1966 to 1971. From 1971 to 1982 he served as the deputy director of the National Air and Space Museum, and was the acting director in 1978.SIA Acc. 96-002, Zisfein, Melvin B, Melvin B. Zisfein Papers, 1947–1995 and undated
at Smithsonian Institution ArchivesSIA RU000346, National Air and Space Museum (U.S.) Office of the Deputy Director, NASM Files, 1961–1988
/ref> Zisfein published a book, ''Flight: A Panorama of Aviation'' in 1981, and a number of other books and professional publications.Google books list for author Melvin B. Zisfein
/ref> Some of his papers are kept at the

Smithsonian Institution Archives Smithsonian Libraries and Archives is an institutional archives and library system comprising 21 branch libraries serving the various Smithsonian Institution museums and research centers. The Libraries and Archives serve Smithsonian Institution ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zisfein, Melvin Aircraft designers Directors of museums in the United States American aviation writers Smithsonian Institution people American aerospace engineers MIT School of Engineering alumni 1926 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American engineers