Robert Deissler

Citation

THE GIANTS OF HEAT TRANSFER: DR. ROBERT DEISSLER, DR. SIMON OSTRACH, AND DR. ROBERT SIEGEL
The NASA Glenn Research Center established itself as a hub of heat transfer expertise early in its history, when it was a National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) laboratory. Rooted in basic, instead of applied, research, a group of the lab’s heat transfer researchers developed new theories that would transform the body of knowledge. As Virginia Dawson explains in her history of the Center, Engines and Innovations, “A new theory was like a new piece of hardware, something on the shelf, ready if it was needed in the future.” Management was more comfortable with a new compressor or afterburner, but the value of theoretical contributions was also appreciated. The theoretical skills of these heat transfer experts made them world renown in their own right, and the application of their theories helped the Center to expand and excel in emerging fields like jet engines, nuclear propulsion, and space exploration.

Biography

Robert Deissler began his broad heat transfer career in 1947 at the NACA Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory, which would later become NASA Glenn. He gained early recognition in the field for a series of papers dealing with turbulent flow and heat transfer of variable-property fluids in pipes or tubes. He quickly advanced to chief of the Heat Transfer Branch. Deissler was recognized as a major contributor to the theory of turbulent-flow heat transfer, and he authored many papers and articles, as well as an authoritative text book, on the subject. In 1957 he received the Exceptional Service Award from the NACA for his contributions to the understanding of heat transfer problems associated with aircraft nuclear propulsion. Among his numerous other honors, Deissler received the Max Jakob Memorial Award in 1975 from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and American Institute for Chemical Engineering AICE for the prestigious achievement of distinguished service in the area of heat transfer. He was honored as an ASME fellow in 1977 and as an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) fellow in 1982. He retired in 1994 and passed away on August 16, 2015.

Related Documents

• Robert Deissler Articles (1951-99)
• Deissler and Lieblein Exceptional Service Awards(1957)
• Analysis of Heat Transfer and Fluid Friction for Turbulent Flow (1953)
• Turbulent Solutions of Equations of Fluid Motion (1985)

Photographs