Dr. Louis G. Dunn (1908-1979)
Dr. Louis G. Dunn (1908-1979)
Louis G. Dunn played a key role in the development of rocketry and early guided missile systems. Born in South Africa in 1908, he came to the United States in 1930. By 1940, he had earned a Bachelor of Science, two Masters degrees in mechanical engineering and a Ph.D. in aeronautical engineering from Caltech. He joined the Caltech faculty before moving to JPL as Assistant Director in 1945. Dunn was part of a team sent to Europe during the last days of World War II for the US Army Ordnance Department, and saw static firings of V-2 rockets.
In 1947 Dunn became Director of JPL, presiding over a rocketry program which led up to the development of Corporal and Sergeant missiles. While at JPL, he wrote several documents and papers on rocket propulsion, power plant development and firing techniques. He resigned in 1954 to take over the new Atlas missile project for the recently formed Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation. He remained there through 1957 serving as associate director, then director, before moving up to president and chairman of the firm's Space Technology Laboratories. He left the firm in 1963 to assume various management positions for Aerojet-General Engineering Corporation. Besides managing the Atlas project (built by General Dynamics), Dunn played a key role in developing Thor (McDonnell Douglas), Titan and Minuteman missiles (Martin Marietta). He received the James H. Wyld Award from the American Rocket Society in 1956.
Dunn had a mild heart attack in 1958. Though he still served as a consultant for the STL/Aerojet Corporation, he moved to Calavaras County, California, four years later and spent the remainder of his life as a cattle rancher. Dunn died in 1979 of a Parkinson's Disease-related disorder.
Publications
- Acuity Effect of Heavy Resistance Exercise on Visual Functions, L. G. Dunn. 1964.
- A Brief Resume of the Corporal E Program, Dunn, L. G. and P. J. Meeks, JPL Report No. 4-45, February 17, 1948.
- A Discussion on the Modification of Standard Bombs to Improve Skip Bombing Technique, von Kármán, T., L. G. Dunn, and J. Charyk, JPL Memorandum No. 2-1, April 7,1944.
- The Drag of Streamlined Bodies, Dunn, L. G, JPL Memorandum No. 2-2, November 10, 1944.
- Heat-Transfer Studies Relating to Rocket Power-Plant Development, Dunn, L. G., W. B. Powell, and H. S. Seifert, JPL External Publication No. 64. (Published in Proceedings of the Royal Aeronautical Society Third Anglo-American Aeronautical Conference, September 13-14, 1951, Brighton England.)
- Investigation of Static Firing Techniques for the A4 Rocket Motor, Dunn, L. G. and M. M. Mills, JPL Memorandum No. 4-9, July 20, 1945.
- Present Status of the Corporal E Development, Dunn, L. G., P. J. Meeks, and F. G. Denison, Jr., JPL Memorandum No. 4-59, March 17,1950.
- Problems in Liquid Rocket Propulsion, Dunn, L. G., JPL Publication No. 7, November 20, 1946.
- The Status and a Future Program for Research and Development of Solid Propellants, Dunn, L. G. and M. M. Mills, JPL Memorandum No. 4-5, March 19, 1945.
- Study of a Ramjet Wind Tunnel for Investigation of Ramjet Supersonic Flow Problems, Puckett, A. E. and L. G. Dunn, JPL Memorandum No. 4-3, January 12, 1945.
- A Suggested Hydroduct Research and Development Program, Dunn, L. G., JPL Memorandum No. 2-3, December 4, 1944.
In this 1947 photo, Dunn is shown doing last minute adjustments on a Corporal missile at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, shortly before it is launched.
This 1954 photo shows Dunn officially opening new building 125 on the JPL campus. Note, that to his right is his successor, Bill Pickering.
Photo taken on January 14, 1947 of the visit of General Everett S. Hughes, Chief of Army Ordnance, to JPL wind tunnel ground breaking ceremony. From left to right in the front row: Clark Millikan, Allan Puckett, Louis Dunn, Lee DuBridge, General Everett S. Hughes, Theodore von Karman, Robert Millikan, and an unidentified man.