Ronald Bromley Smith (October 28, 1907 – August 4, 1984) was an American

mechanical Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

and

consulting engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

business executive A business executive is a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. Executives run companies or government agencies. They create plans to help their organizations g ...

with the

Elliott Company Elliott Company designs, manufactures, installs, and services turbo-machinery for prime movers and rotating machinery. Headquartered in Jeannette, Pennsylvania, Elliott Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Japan-based company, Ebara Corpor ...

and later with M. W. Kellogg Co., now KBR, Inc., and

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

. He is known as 82nd president of the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

in 1963–1964.

Biography

Youth and early career

Smith was born in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

in 1907, son of Isaac B. Smith and Emma L. (Stone) Smith. He obtained his BSc cum laude from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

in 1931 and his MSc from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

in 1937. In 1936 he had done graduate work at the University of Michigan.Engineers Joint Council, ''Engineers of Distinction, Volume 1.'' 1970. p. 390 In 1930 Smith had started his career in the industry at Westinghouse Electric, and in 1936 he moved to the

in Jeannette, Pennsylvania. In 1938 he presented one of his first remarkable papers on a congress on steam-turbine calculation. His work got noticed because he had approached the reheat problem from the analytical standpoint." By 1943 Smith was appointed director of Research and Development at Elliott Company, and by 1946 he had been promoted Director and Vice President. The research activities in those days concerned the "development of new types of power plant and process machinery, such as : gas turbines, gas and air compressors, turbo-expanders, air reduction and gas separation, heat exchange, deaerating heaters, centrifugal and axial flow blowers, superchargers..."

Further career, honours and awards

In 1948, Smith joined the engineering staff of The M. W. Kellogg Co. as expert in "gas turbines, superchargers, condensers, oxygen plants and power machinery in general." He had been hired by CEO Morris Kellogg personally, who was acquainted with several significant technical development achievements Smith had realized during the war. By 1950, Smith was promoted to director of engineering, in 1960, vice-president, and in 1965, senior vice-president of the M. W. Kellogg Company just before his retirement in 1962. Afterwards he started his own private consulting practice. In 1944 Ronald B. Smith had been awarded with

Richard Söderberg Carl Richard (Dick) Söderberg (February 3, 1895October 17, 1979) was a power engineer and Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Background Söderberg was born in the fishing village of Ulvöhamn, in Örnsköldsv ...

the Captain Joseph H. Linnard prize for "best paper contributed to the proceedings of the Society" by the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. In 1962 Smith was elected 82nd president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for the year 1963–64. In 1964 he was awarded the honorary degree of engineering by the

Worcester Polytechnic Institute '' , mottoeng = "Theory and Practice" , established = , former_name = Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science (1865-1886) , type = Private research university , endowme ...

. And in 1979 Smith was elected Honorary Member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In the 1940s Smith had settled in

East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...

, and in the 1960s he had moved to

Old Greenwich, Connecticut Old Greenwich is an affluent coastal village in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 6,611. The town of Greenwich is one political and taxing body, but consists of several distinct section ...

.United States. Congress. Joint Committee on Atomic Energy. ''Licensing and Regulation of Nuclear Reactors: Hearings, Ninetieth Congress, First Session, Part 2.'' 1968. p. 619.

Selected publications

* Smith, Ronald Bromley. "Thermal problems in the mechanical design of steam turbines." ''Journal of the Franklin Institute'' 220.5 (1935): 573–613. * R.B. Smith. "The calculation of steam-turbine reheat factors." ''Trans. ASME'' (1938). * C. Richard Soderberg, & Ronald B. Smith.
The Gas Turbine as a Possible Prime Mover
" ''Soc. of Naval Arch, and Marine Eng.,'' Paper No. Paper No. 5, 1943. p. 115-155 * C. R. Soderberg, R. B. Smith, and A. T. Scott, "A Marine Gas Turbine Plant," ''Trans. Naval Architects and Marine Engineers,'' USA, Vol. 53, (1945). 249-289 ;Patents, a selection * Smith, Ronald B.,
Method of and apparatus for the remote verification of checks
" U.S. Patent No 2,294,809, 1942. * Smith, Ronald B.
Submarine and ship detector using reflected radio waves
" U.S. Patent No. 2,402,459. 18 Jun. 1946. * Smith, Ronald B.,
Metered spraying device for mixed liquids
" U.S. Patent No 2,438,462, 1948. * Smith, Ronald B.
Heated journal bearing
" U.S. Patent No. 2,443,403. 15 Jun. 1948. * Smith, Ronald B.,
High-temperature rotating machinery
" U.S. Patent No 2,505,217, 1950.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ronald Bromley 1907 births 1984 deaths American mechanical engineers American business executives University of Washington alumni University of Pittsburgh alumni People from East Orange, New Jersey People from New London, Connecticut Presidents of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Engineers from New Jersey 20th-century American engineers 20th-century American inventors