Frank L. Stulen | |
|---|---|
| 43rd Mayor of Traverse City | |
| In office January 1, 1961 – January 1, 1962 | |
| Preceded by | H.R. Murchie |
| Succeeded by | Larry Hardy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frank Lem Stulen January 22, 1921 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | June 25, 2010 (aged 89) Traverse City, Michigan, U.S. |
| Resting place | Oakwood Cemetery |
| Spouse | Dorothy |
| Alma mater | Carnegie Mellon University (Carnegie Tech) |
| Occupation | Inventor, Engineer |
| Awards | National Medal of Technology and Innovation |
Frank Lem Stulen (January 22, 1921 – June 25, 2010) graduated from Carnegie Mellon University (then Carnegie Tech) in 1942 with a degree in aeronautical engineering.[1] After graduation, Stulen served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and in the U.S. Air Force from 1942 to 1946, where he was head of the Propeller Lab, Rotary Wing Branch based out of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. After a meeting with John T. Parsons, he was hired as Chief Engineer and Vice President of Engineering at Parsons Corporation in Traverse City.
While working at Parsons Corporation, he invented numerical control of machine tools in collaboration with Parsons. Though Parsons developed many of the core ideas, it was Stulen, as chief engineer, who turned these ideas into working machines and processes. In 1985, Stulen and Parsons were jointly awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Ronald Reagan for "Revolutioniz[ing] Production Of Cars And Airplanes With Numerical Controls For Machines".[2]
Stulen was also Mayor of Traverse City, Michigan, in 1961 and 1962.