Richard Harbert Smith

Richard Harbert Smith
Prof. Richard Harbert Smith (MIT). (1946)
Born(1894-01-15)January 15, 1894
Dillsboro, Indiana, United States
DiedJuly 6, 1957(1957-07-06) (aged 63)
Alexandria, Virginia
Alma mater
Known forpioneering research in aeronautics
Scientific career
FieldsAeronautics
Institutions
ThesisAerodynamic theory and test of strut forms. (1929)
Doctoral advisorAlbert Francis Zahm[1][2]
Doctoral studentsManfred Rauscher

Richard Harbert Smith (15 January 1894, Dillsboro, Indiana – 6 July 1957, Alexandria, Virginia) was a professor and researcher of aeronautical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), from 1929 to 1945.[3]

His academic education was developed at the Moores Hill College (BS, 1915), Indiana (today, University of Evansville);[4] the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (SB, 1918), Cambridge (Greater Boston), Massachusetts; and the Johns Hopkins University (MA,[5] 1928; PhD,[1] 1929), Baltimore, Maryland.

After World War I, Prof. Smith worked as an assistant at the United States Naval Research Laboratory.[6] In 1929, he was an associate physicist at the Navy's laboratory when he was hired by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an associate professor of aeronautical engineering, being promoted to full professor in 1931.

For many years, he was Dr. Jerome Clarke Hunsaker's assistant administrator for aeronautical engineering at MIT.[7]

During the World War II period, Prof. Smith coordinated the MIT Civilian Pilot Training Program[8][9] and was also instructor for several classes of female engineering trainees for the Curtiss company.

In 1945, he left MIT to go to Brazil, hired by the Brazilian government, in a venture led by Casimiro Montenegro Filho, then lieutenant-colonel of the Brazilian Air Force, to establish an institute of aeronautics,[10] the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (Aeronautical Technology Institute), of which he became the first rector.[11][12] This was an outstanding contribution to the scientific and technological education in Brazil.

  1. ^ a b Smith R. H. Aerodynamic theory and test of strut forms. Part II ("This part was submitted in May, 1929, to the Johns Hopkins University as a doctor’s dissertation"). Aerodynamical Laboratory Bureau of Construction and Repair, U.S. Navy, 1930. NACA-TR-335. (Available in pdf on NASA Technical Reports Server, on August 16, 2023).
  2. ^ Acknowledged in Foreword of PhD thesis.
  3. ^ Douglas, D.G. Mini-Biography on Prof. Richard Harbert Smith obtained from MIT Archives, sent by e-mail on Dec 23, 2008. Published under MIT Museum authorization on the wiki of the ITA Alumni on Jan 13, 2009.
  4. ^ University of Evansville.
  5. ^ Smith R. H. Aerodynamic theory and test of strut forms. Part I ("This part was submitted in May, 1928, to the Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the M.A. degree. The second part will be completed and the whole submitted in 1929 in conformity with the requirements for the Ph.D. degree"). Aerodynamical Laboratory Bureau of Construction and Repair, U.S. Navy, 1930. NACA-TR-311. (Available in pdf on NASA Technical Reports Server, on August 16, 2023).
  6. ^ Zahm, A F; Smith, R H; Hill, G C. The drag of C class airship hull with varying length of cylindric midships. Bureau of Construction and Repair, Navy Department, 1923. NACA-TR-138. (available in pdf on NASA Technical Reports Server, on May 26, 2010).
  7. ^ The Blue book of American aviation: who's who in the industry. Aviation Statistics Institute of America. 1942. (Google Books search result)
  8. ^ "Flight training suspended here. War order is first to effect institute; ban is temporary". The Tech, Vol LXI, No. 50, pg 01/04, Dec 9, 1941. MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  9. ^ "Flight training nears completion. Trainees next term must pledge service, pass rigid physical". The Tech, Vol LXI, No. 59, pg 04/04, Jan 20, 1942. MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  10. ^ Smith Plan (ITA/CTA). Site of FCMF - Fundação Casimiro Montenegro Filho (Casimiro Montenegro Filho Foundation).
  11. ^ ITA Rectors Gallery (portuguese). Site of the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA).
  12. ^ Rectors and vice-rectors of ITA (portuguese). Site of the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA).