Robert Alan Frosch (May 22, 1928 – December 30, 2020) was an American scientist who was the fifth administrator 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 ...

. He was the administrator from 1977 to 1981 during the

Carter administration Jimmy Carter's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 39th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Jimmy Carter, his inauguration on January 20, 1977, and ended on January 20, 1981. Carter, a Democratic Party ...

Biography

Born in New York City, Frosch was educated in the public school system in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in theoretical physics at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. Between September 1951 and August 1963, Frosch worked as a research scientist and director of research programs for Hudson Laboratories of Columbia University in

Dobbs Ferry, New York Dobbs Ferry is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 10,875 according to the 2010 United States Census. In 2021, its population rose to an estimated 11,456. The ...

, an organization under contract to the

Office of Naval Research The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to plan ...

. Until 1953, he worked on problems in underwater sound,

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of to ...

marine geology Marine geology or geological oceanography is the study of the history and structure of the ocean floor. It involves geophysical, Geochemistry, geochemical, Sedimentology, sedimentological and paleontological investigations of the ocean floor and ...

, and marine geophysics. Frosch was first associate and then director of the laboratories, where he managed 300 employees, two ocean-going research vessels, and a $3.5 million annual budget for fundamental research and engineering. During this period he was also technical director of Project Artemis, a very large experimental active sonar system development. In September 1963, Frosch went to Washington, D.C., to work with the

Advanced Research Projects Agency The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adva ...

(ARPA) in the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...

, serving as director for nuclear test detection ( Project VELA), and then as deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency, sharing responsibility for managing a $270 million per year program of research and development. In July 1966 he became Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research and Development, responsible for all Navy programs of research, development, engineering, test and evaluation averaging $2.5 billion annually. From January 1973 to July 1975, Frosch served as assistant executive director of the

United Nations Environmental Program The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...

. With the rank of assistant secretary general of the United Nations, he was responsible for substantive global program activities of the United Nations system and other international activities related to environment matters. RobertAFrosch001

While at NASA, Frosch was responsible for overseeing the continuation of the development effort on the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

program. During his tenure, the project underwent testing of the first orbiter, ''Enterprise'', at NASA's

Dryden Flight Research Center The NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. Its primary campus is located inside Edwards Air Force Base in California and is considered NASA's premier site for aeronautical rese ...

in southern California. He was appointed an International

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senio ...

in 1989. Frosch left NASA with the change of administrations in January 1981 to become vice president for research at the

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 ...

Research Laboratories. In 1985, he was the recipient of the Maurice Holland Award from the

Industrial Research Institute Innovation Research Interchange (IRI) is a division of the National Association of Manufacturers, a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit association based in Washington, D. C., United States. IRI was founded as a private non-profit association in 1938 ...

for a paper published in IRI's journal, ''

Research Management Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

''. In 1996, his leadership at GM was recognized once more by IRI with the presentation of their official

Medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

. After retiring, he remained active in scientific and technical policy activities; as a senior research fellow at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and a guest investigator at

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, acronym pronounced ) is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering. Established in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, it i ...

. Frosch died in

South Hadley, Massachusetts South Hadley (, ) is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,150 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts. South Hadle ...

, on December 30, 2020, at the age of 92, after a long illness.

References

* ''Portions of this article are based on

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

text fro
NASA
''

External links

Oral history interview transcript with Robert Frosch on 10 July 1981, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
– Session I
Oral history interview transcript with Robert Frosch on 23 July 1981, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
– Session II
Oral history interview transcript with Robert Frosch on 19 August 1981, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
– Session III
Oral history interview transcript with Robert Frosch on 15 September 1981, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
– IV
Oral history interview transcript with Robert Frosch on 6 October 1981, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
– V
Oral history interview transcript with Robert Frosch on 28 May 1998, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frosch, Robert Alan 1928 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American physicists Administrators of NASA American officials of the United Nations Carter administration personnel Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Harvard Kennedy School people Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Scientists from the Bronx American theoretical physicists