Gustaf Olof "Olle" Ljungström (1918–2013) was a Swedish

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

. He was a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting scientist, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic fo ...

in aircraft design at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

and the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

in the United States.

Biography

Olof Ljungström was born in 1918 as the son of

Fredrik Ljungström Fredrik Ljungström (16 June 1875 – 18 February 1964) was a Swedes, Swedish engineer, Industrial design, technical designer, and industrialist. Considered one of the foremost inventors of Sweden, Fredrik Ljungström accounted for hundreds ...

and Signe (née Söderberg). He studied at Whitlockska samskolan, and studied

aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design process, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. While the term originally referred ...

at the

Royal Institute of Technology KTH Royal Institute of Technology (), abbreviated KTH, is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in engineering and technology and is Sweden's largest technical university. Since 2018, KTH consist ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. He undertook military service as an

automotive engineer Automotive engineering, along with aerospace engineering and naval architecture, is a branch of vehicle engineering, incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software, and safety engineering as applied to the design, manufact ...

in the

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( or just ) is the air force Military branch, branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalatin ...

in 1939 and 1940. He acquired a Ph.D. in

transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

and

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

technology at the Royal Institute of Technology in 1973. Ljungström made contributions as an engineer in both his family businesses, notably in

shale oil extraction Shale oil extraction is an industrial process for unconventional oil production. This process converts kerogen in oil shale into shale oil by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. The resultant shale oil is used as fuel oil or ...

, and beyond. He was recruited for the aircraft development at

Saab Saab or SAAB may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Saab AB, a Swedish aircraft, aerospace and defence company, still known as SAAB, and together with subsidiaries as Saab Group ** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab ...

. As a technical engineer, he worked with models from

Saab 17 The Saab 17 is a Sweden, Swedish single-engine monoplane reconnaissance dive-bomber aircraft of the 1940s originally developed by AB Svenska Järnvägsverkstädernas Aeroplanavdelning, ASJA prior to its merger into Saab AB , Saab. It was the fir ...

and

Saab 29 Tunnan The Saab 29 ''Tunnan'' (''The Barrel''), colloquially also ''Flygande Tunnan'' (''The Flying Barrel''), is an early jet-powered fighter aircraft designed and produced by the Swedish aircraft manufacturer Saab. It was the second turbojet-powered ...

Saab 35 Draken The Saab 35 Draken (; ''The Kite'', ambiguous with ''The Dragon'') is a Swedish interceptor aircraft, fighter-interceptor developed and manufactured by Saab AB, Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Saab AB, SAAB) between 1955 and 1974. Development of ...

, the latter which was originally due to employ the

jet engine A jet engine is a type of reaction engine, discharging a fast-moving jet (fluid), jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition may include Rocket engine, rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and ...

STAL Dovern The STAL Dovern was a Swedish turbojet design of the early 1950s, named after a lake in Finspång municipality in Östergötland, Sweden. Intended to power the Saab 35 Draken, this aircraft was powered by the Rolls-Royce Avon instead. The Dover ...

. He also spearheaded the development of the

hovercraft A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the ...

Saab 401 The Saab 401 MEFA was an experimental air-cushioned vehicle with a weight of 2 tons and capable of about 40 knots on open water with two people on board. A single prototype was built under contract to the Swedish Navy. The craft was first teste ...

for the

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

during the 1960s. Due to his wide knowledge in the field, he was appointed

in aircraft design at

1966-1967 and the

1968, both in the United States. Furthermore, Ljungström was an international pioneer in

wind power Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ge ...

. He initiated the governmental project of

wind power in Sweden Sweden has a total of 16.4 GW of wind power capacity at the end of 2023, the 5th highest in Europe and most per capita. Wind power produced 20.9% of national electricity generation in 2023, up from 0.3% in 2000. In July 2024, the Swedish Wind ...

at the National Swedish Board for Technical Development (''Styrelsen för teknisk utveckling'') in 1974. Ljungström has contributed as technical writer and editor in ''Teknisk Tidskrift'' (1960-1975), among other publications. Having worked close to his father Fredrik Ljungström, he wrote an extensive biography on him, ''Fredrik Ljungström 1875-1964 - Uppfinnare och inspiratör'', in 1999.

Distinctions

* Sweden: Honorary member of the Swedish Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ljungstrom, Olof 20th-century Swedish engineers Engineers from Stockholm Swedish military engineers KTH Royal Institute of Technology alumni Academic staff of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology Stanford University Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics faculty California Institute of Technology faculty People associated with wind power

Olof Olov (or Olof) is a Swedish form of Olav/Olaf, meaning "ancestor's descendant". A common short form of the name is ''Olle''. The name may refer to: * Olle Åberg (1925–2013), Swedish middle-distance runner * Olle Åhlund (1920–1996), Swed ...

1918 births 2013 deaths