Paul Beattie MacCready Jr. (September 25, 1925 – August 28, 2007) was an American

aeronautical 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 ...

. He was the founder of

AeroVironment AeroVironment, Inc. is an American Arms industry, defense contractor headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, that designs and manufactures unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Paul MacCready, Paul B. MacCready Jr., a designer of human-powered aircraft, ...

and the designer of the

human-powered aircraft A human-powered aircraft (HPA) is an aircraft belonging to the class of vehicles known as human-powered transport. As its name suggests, HPAs have the pilot not only steer, but power the aircraft (usually propeller-driven) by means of a system ...

that won the first

Kremer prize The Kremer prizes are a series of monetary awards, established in 1959 by the industrialist Henry Kremer. Royal Aeronautical Society Human Powered Flight Group The Royal Aeronautical Society's "Man Powered Aircraft Group" was formed in 1959 b ...

. He devoted his life to developing more efficient transportation vehicles that could "do more with less".

Early life and education

Born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, to a medical family, MacCready was an inventor from an early age and won a national contest building a model flying machine at the age of 15. "I was always the smallest kid in the class ... by a good bit, and was not especially coordinated, and certainly not the athlete type, who enjoyed running around outside, and was socially kind of immature, not the comfortable leader, teenager type. And so, when I began getting into model airplanes, and getting into contests and creating new things, I probably got more psychological benefit from that than I would have from some of the other typical school things." MacCready graduated from

Hopkins School Hopkins School is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational, day school for grades 7–12 located in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1660, Edward Hopkins, seven-time governor of the Connecticut Colony, bequeathed a portion of his estate to fou ...

in 1943 and then trained as a US Navy pilot before the end of World War II. He received a BS in physics from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1947, an MS in physics from

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

in 1948, and a PhD in aeronautics from Caltech in 1952. His doctoral dissertation ''Investigation of Atmospheric Turbulence'' was supervised by Homer Joseph Stewart. In 1951, MacCready founded his first company, Meteorology Research Inc, to do atmospheric research. Some of MacCready's work as a graduate student involved

cloud seeding Cloud seeding is a type of weather modification that aims to change the amount or type of precipitation, mitigate hail, or disperse fog. The usual objective is to increase rain or snow, either for its own sake or to prevent precipitation from ...

, and he was an early pioneer of the use of aircraft to study meteorological phenomena.

Career and achievements

He started

gliding Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sports, air sport in which pilots fly glider aircraft, unpowered aircraft known as Glider (sailplane), gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmospher ...

after World War II and was a three-time winner (1948, 1949, 1953) of the Richard C. du Pont Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the U.S. National Open Class Soaring Champion. In 1956, he became the first American pilot to become the World Soaring Champion. He invented a device that told pilots the best

speed to fly Speed to fly is a principle used by soaring pilots when flying between sources of lift, usually thermals, ridge lift and wave. The aim is to maximize the average cross-country speed by optimizing the airspeed in both rising and sinking air. T ...

a glider, depending on conditions and based on the glider's rate of sink at different air-speeds.

Sailplane A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...

pilots still use the " MacCready speed ring", and still adjust the "MacCready Number" (abbreviated MC) within their flight instruments, to optimize their flying speed. In the 1970s, he guaranteed a business loan for a friend, which subsequently failed, leaving him with a $100,000 debt. This was the motivation he needed to compete for the £50,000

for human-powered flight, which had been on offer for 18 years. With Dr. Peter B.S. Lissaman, he created a

, the ''

Gossamer Condor The MacCready ''Gossamer Condor'' was the first human-powered aircraft capable of controlled and sustained flight; as such, it won the Kremer prize in 1977. Its design was led by Paul MacCready of AeroVironment, Inc. Design and development T ...

''. The Condor stayed aloft for seven minutes while it completed the required figure eight course, thereby winning the first Kremer prize in August 1977. The award-winning plane was constructed of aluminium tubing, plastic foam, piano wire, bicycle parts, and

mylar BoPET (biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate) is a polyester film made from stretched polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and is used for its high tensile strength, chemical stability, dimensional stability, transparency reflectivity, an ...

foil for covering. Kremer then offered another £100,000 for the first human-powered crossing of the English Channel. MacCready took up the challenge and in 1979, he built the Condor's successor, the ''

Gossamer Albatross The ''Gossamer Albatross'' is a human-powered aircraft built by American aeronautical engineer Dr Paul B MacCready's company AeroVironment. On June 12, 1979, it completed a successful crossing of the English Channel to win the second Kremer ...

'', and won the second Kremer prize, successfully flying from England to France. He also received the Collier Trophy, which is awarded annually for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics, for his design and construction of the Albatross.

He later created solar-powered aircraft such as the ''

Gossamer Penguin The ''Gossamer Penguin'' was a solar-powered experimental aircraft created by Paul MacCready's AeroVironment. MacCready had built the '' Gossamer Condor'' in 1977 which won the Kremer prize for the first human-powered flight, and the '' Gossame ...

'' and the ''

Solar Challenger The Solar Challenger was a solar-powered aircraft designed by Paul MacCready's AeroVironment. The aircraft was designed as an improvement on the Gossamer Penguin, which in turn was a solar-powered variant of the human-powered Gossamer Albatr ...

''. He was involved in the development of NASA's solar-powered flying wings such as the

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; ; Homeric Greek: ) is the god who personification, personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

, which surpassed the

SR-71 The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a retired Range (aeronautics), long-range, high-altitude, Mach number, Mach 3+ military strategy, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Co ...

's altitude records and could theoretically fly on Mars (where the atmosphere is thin, with little oxygen). MacCready also collaborated with

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

on the design of the

Sunraycer The Sunraycer was a solar-powered race car designed to compete in the World Solar Challenge, the world's first race featuring solar-powered cars. The Sunraycer was a joint collaboration between General Motors, AeroVironment, and Hughes Aircraft ...

, a solar-powered car, and then on the

EV1 The General Motors EV1 is a battery electric vehicle, battery electric car produced by the American automaker General Motors from 1996 until #Demise, its demise in 1999. A subcompact car, the EV1 marked the introduction of mass production, ma ...

electric car. In 1985, he was commissioned to build a halfscale working replica of the

pterosaur Pterosaurs are an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 million to 66 million years ago). Pterosaurs are the earli ...

Quetzalcoatlus ''Quetzalcoatlus'' () is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur that lived during the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous in North America. The Type (biology), type specimen, recovered in 1971 from the Javelina Formation of Texas, United States, ...

for 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 ...

, following a workshop in 1984, which concluded that such a replica was feasible. The completed remote-controlled flying reptile, with a wingspan of 18 feet, was filmed over Death Valley, California in 1986 for the Smithsonian's

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...

film ''On the Wing.'' It flew successfully several times before being severely damaged in a crash at an airshow at Andrews AFB in Maryland. The launch of the pterosaur model came off well but the radio transmitter link failed, perhaps because of the interference from some of the many base communications devices. The model nosed over and crashed at the runway side, breaking at the neck from the force of impact. MacCready helped to sponsor the Nissan Dempsey/MacCready Prize which has helped to motivate developments in racing-bicycle technology, applying aerodynamics and new materials to allow for faster human-powered vehicles. He was the founder (in 1971) and Chairman of

Inc., a public company (AVAV) that develops unmanned surveillance aircraft and advanced power systems. AV flew a prototype of the first airplane to be powered by hydrogen fuel cells, the Global Observer. MacCready died on August 28, 2007, from metastatic melanoma. He was an atheist and a skeptic. He was survived by his wife Judy, his three sons

Parker Parker may refer to: People * Parker (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Parker (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Arts and entertainment * ''Parke ...

, Tyler and Marshall and two grandchildren.

Awards and honors

* Induction to the U.S.

Soaring Hall of Fame The Soaring Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made the highest achievements in, or contributions to, the sport of gliding, soaring in the United States of America. It has been located at the National Soaring Museum in Elmira, New York, s ...

, 1954 *

Otto Lilienthal Karl Wilhelm Otto Lilienthal (23 May 1848 – 10 August 1896) was a German pioneer of aviation who became known as the "flying man". He was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful flights with gliders, therefore making t ...

Medal of the

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...

, 1956 ("for his decisive victory in earning the title of World Soaring Champion in 1956") *

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 ...

, Distinguished Alumni Award, 1978, *

Collier Trophy The Robert J. Collier Trophy is awarded annually "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been t ...

, 1979, by the

National Aeronautics Association The National Aeronautic Association of the United States (NAA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and a founding member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Founded in 1905, it is the oldest national aviation club in the Un ...

* Reed Aeronautical Award, 1979, by the

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 ...

("the most notable achievement in the field of aeronautical science and engineering") *

Edward Longstreth Medal The Franklin Institute is a science museum and a center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memor ...

, 1979, by the

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and a center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and wikt:statesman, statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin ...

* Engineer of the Century Gold Medal, 1980, by the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...

Spirit of St. Louis The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that Charles Lindbergh flew on May 20–21, 1927, on the Charles Lindbergh#New York–Paris flight ...

Medal, 1980 * Inventor of the Year Award, 1981, by the Association for the Advancement of Invention and Innovation *

Klemperer Klemperer is a German-language occupational surname literally meaning "tinker". It is suggested that in the case of the conductor's immediate family the original name was Klopper - one who knocks on doors to get people to go to Synagogue. The sur ...

Award, 1981,

Organisation Scientifique et Technique du Vol à Voile Organisation Scientifique et Technique du Vol à Voile (OSTIV) is a body associated with the FAI Gliding Commission (IGC). The FAI IGC oversees the sport of gliding worldwide and is a department of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI ...

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...

, Germany * I.B. Laskowitz Award, 1981,

New York Academy of Science The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), originally founded as the Lyceum of Natural History in January 1817, is a nonprofit professional society based in New York City, with more than 20,000 members from 100 countries. It is the fourth-oldes ...

* The

Lindbergh Charles Lindbergh (1902–1974) was first pilot to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic. Lindbergh, a Swedish surname, may also refer to: People *Anne Lindbergh (1940-1993), U.S. children's author, daughter of the famous pilot Charles Lindbergh ...

Award, 1982, by the Lindbergh Foundation ("to a person who contributes significantly to achieving a balance between technology and the environment") * Golden Plate Award, 1982, of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...

* Gold Air Medal, of the

* Distinguished Service Award, of the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

* Honorary Doctor of Engineering from

Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a Private university, private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely de ...

, 1980 *Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

, 1981 * Honorary Doctor of Science from

, 1983 * Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Advance of Applied Meteorology, 1985,

American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is a scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. Its mission is to advance the atmosph ...

* Public Service Grand Achievement Award, of

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 ...

* Frontiers of Science and Technology Award, 1986, first award in this category given by the

Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is a program within the U.S. non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to "p ...

* The "Lipper Award", 1986, for outstanding contribution to creativity, by the O-M Association (

Odyssey of the Mind Odyssey of the Mind, abbreviated OM or OotM, is a creative problem-solving program where team members present their solution at a competition to a predefined long-term problem that takes many months to complete and involves writing, design, cons ...

) * Guggenheim Medal, 1987, jointly by the

, the

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE International is a global professional association and standards organization based in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, United States. Formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers, the organization adopted its current name in 2006 to reflect bot ...

, and 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, ...

Trophy for Current Achievement, 1988 * Enshrinement in The

National Aviation Hall of Fame The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is a museum, annual awards ceremony and learning and research center that was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, United States, known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" with ...

, July 1991,

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 ...

* SAE Edward N. Cole Award for Automotive Engineering Innovation, September 1991 * Scientist of the Year, 1992 ARCS (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists),

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

Chapter * Pioneer of Invention, 1992, United Inventors Association *

Chrysler Design Award The Chrysler Design Awards celebrate the achievements of individuals in innovative works of architecture and design which significantly influenced modern American culture. Chrysler's awards started in 1993 to recognize six designers based in the Uni ...

for Innovation in Design, 1993 * Honorary Member designation,

, 1995 *

, Ralph Coats Roe Medal, November 1998 *

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...

Memorial Award, Aero Club of Southern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, January 1999 * Calstart's 1998 Blue Sky Merit Award, February 1999 * 1999 National Convention of the Soaring Society of America, dedicated to Paul MacCready, February 1999 * Special Achievement Award, ''

Design News Design News is a business-to-business media brand covering news, trends, and technology insights for the engineering community. Owned by Informa Markets — Engineering, it is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The brand has been in p ...

'', March 1999 * Included in ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine's "The Century's Greatest Minds" (March 29, 1999) series "on the 100 most influential people of the century" * Philip J. Klass Lifetime Achievement ''

Aviation Week ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network, a division of Informa. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aeros ...

'' Laureate Award, April 1999 * Commemorated in

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

stamp, 1 of 16 "Environmental Heroes of the 20th Century", January 2000 * Institute for the Advancement of Engineering William B. Johnson Memorial Award, February 2000 *

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum at the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 Smithsonian Institution museums and one of three Smithsonian facil ...

, National Design Award – Product Design, November 2000 *

Hoyt Clarke Hottel Hoyt Clarke Hottel (1903 – 18 August 1998) was a professor in the department of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was an expert on energy, radiant heat transfer, fire, fuels and combustion. In 1984, ...

Award,

American Solar Energy Society The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization advocating for renewable energy in the United States. Founded in 1954, ASES' goal is to speed the transition toward a sustainable energy economy and 100% renewable en ...

, April 24, 2001 ("lifetime achievement as an inventor, specifically for inventing the world's first two solar-powered aircraft") * 2001 World Technology Award for Energy, England, July 2001 * Prince Alvaro de Orleans Borbon Fund, First Annual Award, October 2001, from the

, Switzerland * The 2002 Walker Prize,

Museum of Science A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers ...

, Boston, March 2002 * International von Karman Wings Award, Aerospace Historical Society, May 2002 *Member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

, 2002 * The 9th Annual

Heinz Award The Heinz Awards are individual achievement honors given annually by the Heinz Foundations, Heinz Family Foundation. The Heinz Awards each year recognize outstanding individuals for their innovative contributions in three areas: the Arts, the Eco ...

in Technology, the Economy and Employment, 2003 *

Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science The Franklin Institute Awards (or Benjamin Franklin Medal) is an American science and engineering award presented by the Franklin Institute, a science museum in Philadelphia. The Franklin Institute awards comprises the Benjamin Franklin Medals ...

, 2003 * Honorary Doctorate,

Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, United States. The college traces its origin to three Presbyterian m ...

, May 2007 * Included in the Pantheon of Skeptics of the

Committee for Skeptical Inquiry The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is a program within the U.S. non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to " ...

(Formerly Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal)(April 2011) * Included in ''

Flying Flying may refer to: * Flight, the process of flying * Aviation, the creation and operation of aircraft Music Albums * '' Flying (Cody Fry album)'', 2017 * ''Flying'' (Grammatrain album), 1997 * ''Flying'' (Jonathan Fagerlund album), 2008 * ...

'' magazine's list of the "51 Heroes of Aviation" (July 24, 2013) * Inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame, 2015

Other interests

MacCready was a

secular humanist Secular humanism is a philosophy, belief system, or life stance that embraces human reason, logic, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism, while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basi ...

, which he defined as someone who "does not believe in God, and doesn't steal." He was a laureate of the

International Academy of Humanism The International Academy of Humanism, established in 1983, is a programme of the Council for Secular Humanism. It was established to recognize great humanists and disseminate humanist thinking. According to its declared mission, members of the ...

. He was involved with

scientific skepticism Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism (also spelled scepticism), sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a position in which one questions the veracity of claims lacking scientific evidence. In practice, the term most commonly ref ...

from its early days, being a member of the board of directors of the Southern California Skeptics in 1985. Skeptic and author

Michael Shermer Michael Brant Shermer (born September 8, 1954) is an American science writer, historian of science, executive director of The Skeptics Society, and founding publisher of '' Skeptic'' magazine, a publication focused on investigating pseudoscientif ...

credits MacCready with his introduction to the skeptical movement. MacCready was admitted posthumously to the

's Pantheon of Skeptics in 2011. Since 2013, MacCready has been listed on the Advisory Council of the

National Center for Science Education The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) is a Nonprofit organization, not-for-profit membership organization in the United States whose stated mission is to educate the press and the public on the scientific and educational aspects of con ...

. MacCready was also a passionate environmentalist who was concerned about humanity's role in the depletion of natural resources. "Environmentally conscious, technologically clever, and culturally grand, Paul wanted to change the world through reason, intelligence, and creativity", Shermer wrote of him in an obituary.

Appearances

MacCready lectured widely at both industry and educational venues, with an emphasis on creativity. Enthusiastic about spreading his message to as many as possible, he would speak to anyone he thought he could influence, including children. Michael Shermer described his delivery as "completely unpretentious, conversing in the same manner whether he was talking to a room full of undergraduate students or Nobel laureates and Pulitzer Prize winners." In February 1998, MacCready spoke at a TED conference on the topic of nature versus humans, continuing his environmental theme of "doing more with less". And in February, 2003 he delivered another TED talk entitled "A Flight on Solar Wings"

Quotes

Publications

* *

References

External links

Biography

Short biography from

MIT Press The MIT Press is the university press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MIT Press publishes a number of academic journals and has been a pioneer in the Open Ac ...

. Text adapted from ''Inventing Modern America.''
MacCready reflects on being stuck and rescued from the side of a cliff in 1993

Photos and videoclip of MacCready's pterosaur replica
See link at bottom of page for videoclip of the machine flying.
Paul B. MacCready Papers, Digitized Collection
Caltech Archives, California Institute of Technology.
Interview with Paul B. MacCready
Caltech Oral Histories {{DEFAULTSORT:Maccready, Paul 1925 births 2007 deaths American aerospace engineers American aviators American glider pilots American atheists American skeptics American humanists Secular humanists Aviators from Connecticut Businesspeople from New Haven, Connecticut California Institute of Technology alumni Collier Trophy recipients Deaths from brain cancer in California Engineers from California Gliding in the United States Hopkins School alumni Lilienthal Gliding Medal recipients National Aviation Hall of Fame inductees United States Navy pilots of World War II Yale University alumni 20th-century American engineers 20th-century American businesspeople Members of the American Philosophical Society Benjamin Franklin Medal (Franklin Institute) laureates