Gadicharla V.R. Rao (G. V. R. Rao), D.Sc. (June 24, 1918- May 27, 2005) was an American

aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

of Indian origin who worked in the jet engine and rocket propulsion fields. Rao worked for General Electric in their Gas Turbine Division department and was a research scientist at Marquardt Aircraft, before working for

Rocketdyne Rocketdyne is an American rocket engine design and production company headquartered in Canoga Park, California, Canoga Park, in the western San Fernando Valley of suburban Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, in southern California. Rocketdyne ...

, where he designed the optimum thrust nozzle. Often referred to as the "Rao's nozzle", it is part of the standard design for rocket engines. The Rao Nozzle is used currently in rocket, missile, and satellite control systems worldwide. It is taught in universities that offer Aerospace Engineering, including

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT),

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

(Caltech), and

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...

. During his career, he also worked on aerodynamic and fluid dynamic design projects, such as chemical lasers, the space shuttle main engines scramjet and aerospike rocket engines, and wind-powered generators.

Personal life and education

On June 24, 1918, Rao was born in

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry ( ), officially Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and district headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the fifth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the district of Rajahmu ...

in the

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

province of southeastern India. His father was a school headmaster. Rao was born into a large

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

household, and is related to

Gadicherla Harisarvottama Rao Gadicherla Harisarvottama Rao (14 September 1883 – 29 February 1960) was a freedom fighter from Andhra during the Indian independence movement. He was inspired by the ideologies of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal and joined the f ...

, a well-known freedom fighter for India's independence. Rao attended Madras Engineering College, and then came to the United States, where he received his D.Sc. in Aeronautical Engineering from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1949. He met and married Mary Fabrizio in New York, and they subsequently moved to

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, India. Rao and Mary returned to America after their first son, Raman was born. Rao then worked at General Electric. Their second son, Krishna was born, and the family subsequently moved to

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States. History The area was inhabited for around 8,000 years by Native Americans in the United States, ...

. In 1976, the Raos moved to

Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, located in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles. Approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, it is named after the many oak trees pr ...

. Rao died at the age of 86 on May 27, 2005.

Career

Educator

After receiving his D.Sc., Rao taught in

, India at the Graduate Research Institute.

Aerospace engineer

From 1952 to 1955, Rao worked for General Electric in their Gas Turbine Division. He was then a research scientist at Marquardt Aircraft until 1958. Rao then worked for

in California as a design analyst. Beginning in the mid-1950s, Rao began to use mainframe computers at

to make computations for the design of rocket nozzles. Kramer and Wheelock state, "Rao developed a method for determining the nozzle contour that would produce the maximum thrust for any given nozzle area ratio and length... The optimum turned out to be not only more efficient but also considerably shorter by about 60% than a 15-degree conical nozzle of the same area." George P. Sutton, who worked with Rao at Rocketdyne, said that "bell shape or curved exit contour is used almost universally today for nozzles designed since about 1960 for large as well as small thrust chamber nozzles" and for both solid and liquid propellants. In 1963, the Advanced Propulsion Section of NASA published ''Computation of Plug Nozzle Contours by the Rao Optimum Thrust Method'' about a study that was performed to design a

plug nozzle The plug nozzle is a type of nozzle which includes a centerbody or plug around which the working fluid flows. Plug nozzles have applications in aircraft, rockets, and numerous other fluid flow devices. Hoses Common garden hose trigger nozzles ...

using Rao's maximum thrust theory using a FORTRAN computer program. In 1983, Rao's design was modified, with a slightly different contour, to maximize performance. In 1961, Rao worked at National Engineering Science Company as associate director. By 1970, he formed his own company, G. V. R. Rao and Associates, through which he contracted with NASA. He worked at

Rockwell International Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate (company), conglomerate. It was involved in aircraft, the space industry, defense and commercial electronics, components in the automotive industry, printing presses, avioni ...

for

Marshall Space Flight Center Marshall Space Flight Center (officially the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center; MSFC), located in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville postal address), is the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government's ...

in 1988. During his career, he also worked on aerodynamic and fluid dynamic design projects, such as chemical lasers, the space shuttle main engines scramjet and aerospike rocket engines, and wind-powered generators. His patented inventions include Device for thrust spoiling and thrust reversal (1957), Quiet fan with non-radial elements (1975), Shock wave suppressing flow plate for pulsed lasers (1984), and Mixing aids for supersonic flows (1990).

Publications

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Personal life and education

Career

Educator

Aerospace engineer

Publications

References

Further reading