John D. Anderson Jr. (born October 1, 1937) is the Curator of Aerodynamics at the

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...

at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, Professor Emeritus in the Department of

Aerospace Engineering 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 ...

at the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

Biography

John D. Anderson Jr. was born on October 1, 1937, in

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

. He enrolled at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in Gainesville in approximately 1953. In 1959, he earned a bachelor's degree in

Aeronautical Engineering 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 ...

with high honors. In 1959, he was hired by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

to become a Task Scientist at the Aerospace Research Laboratory,

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. He stayed in that position until 1962, when he enrolled at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

under fellowships from the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

. In 1966, Anderson earned his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Ohio State. That same year, he joined the United States

Naval Ordnance Laboratory The Naval Ordnance Laboratory (NOL) was a facility in the White Oak, Maryland, White Oak area of Montgomery County, Maryland. The location is now used as the headquarters of the Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Or ...

White Oak, Maryland White Oak is a census-designated place and unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 16,347 in 2020. White Oak was known for its Naval Ordnance Laboratory, which was closed in 1994. The headquart ...

, becoming the Chief of the Hypersonic Group. In 1973, Anderson joined the faculty of the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, becoming Chairman of the Department of Aerospace Engineering. He became Professor of Aerospace Engineering in 1980, serving in that capacity until 1999, when he retired and was named

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

. He also served as an affiliate member of the History Department at UMD. The John Anderson Scholarship Fund was established in Anderson's honor in 2000 by the A. James Clark School of Engineering jointly with the Department of Aerospace Engineering. Anderson was elected as a member into the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

for aerospace engineering and history textbooks and for contributions to hypersonic gas dynamics. He is currently the Curator of Aerodynamics at the

Books

*''Gas Dynamic Lasers: An Introduction'',

Academic Press Academic Press (AP) is an academic book publisher founded in 1941. It launched a British division in the 1950s. Academic Press was acquired by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1969. Reed Elsevier said in 2000 it would buy Harcourt, a deal complete ...

(1976), and under

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

*''Introduction to Flight'', McGraw-Hill, 1st edition (1978), 2nd edition, (1985), 3rd edition (1989), 4th edition (2000), 5th edition (2005), 6th edition (2008), 7th edition (2011), 8th edition (2015), 9th edition (2021) *''Modern Compressible Flow'', McGraw-Hill, 1st edition (1982), 2nd edition (1990), 3rd edition (2002) *''Fundamentals of Aerodynamics'', 1st edition (1984), 2nd edition (1991), 3rd edition (2001), 4th edition (2006), 5th edition (2010), 6th edition (2017) *''Hypersonic and High Temperature Gas Dynamics'', 1st edition (1989), 2nd edition (2000), 2nd revised edition (2006), 3rd edition (2019) *''Computational Fluid Dynamics: The Basics with Applications'', McGraw-Hill (1995) *''A History of Aerodynamics and Its Impact on Flying Machines'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

(1997) *''Aircraft Performance and Design'', McGraw-Hill (1999) *''The Airplane: A History of Its Technology'',

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecra ...

(2002) *''Inventing Flight: The Wright Brothers and Their Predecessors'',

Johns Hopkins University Press Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publi ...

(2004) *''X-15: The World's Fastest Rocket Plane and the Pilots Who Ushered in the Space Age'',

Zenith Press The Quarto Group is a global illustrated book publishing group founded in 1976. It is domiciled in the United States and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Quarto creates and sells illustrated books for adults and children, across 50 countri ...

(2014)

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, John D. 1937 births Living people 20th-century American engineers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American engineers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers Aerodynamicists American aerospace engineers American engineering writers American curators American male non-fiction writers American science writers Engineering educators Engineers from Pennsylvania American fluid dynamicists American historians of science Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Ohio State University College of Engineering alumni University of Florida College of Engineering alumni University of Maryland, College Park faculty Writers from Lancaster, Pennsylvania