Memorial Tributes Volume 4 (1991) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Charles Stark Draper
Charles Stark Draper
Pages 57-62
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 57... ...
The psychology curriculum probably did no harm, but instinctively DOG knew how to lead and how to get people to follow to a common goal. He naturally interacted well with people.
|
From page 58... ...
Draper really pursued three major thrusts in his life's work: measurement of physical processes, primarily the instrumentation of dynamic geometry; the systems engineering of those processes in the larger context of new concepts; and, finally, the education of the engineering profession. Following his early experiments with basic instruments, the solution of the dynamic geometry problems associated with gunfire control, both on fixed-wing aircraft mounted guns and with deck-mounted antiaircraft guns, occurred first.
|
From page 59... ...
Underlying all of that was the third, and perhaps the most important, of all his interests the education process that he created when he had both the MIT Aeronautical Engineering Department en cl his Instrumentation Lab under his direct control. "Mens et Manus," minds and handsthe MIT motto had real meaning in this context.
|
From page 60... ...
Thus, the challenge for the Instrumentation Laboratory was not to prove a concept or even a technology but rather to adapt the system to the extraordinary distances and the demanding reliability requirements of the manned moon mission. In actuality the version of Draper's system implemented by Dave Hoag and his team used both a star tracker and accepted radio position and velocity updates from NASA's long base-line earth-based tracking stations- a sort of belt-and-suspenders solution that worked.
|
From page 61... ...
He was president of the van Karman Foundation, The International Academy of Astronautics, and The National Inventors Council. He had many academic honorary degrees and citations.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.