Dr. Paul R. Garabedian was a mathematician whose workplace may not have solve any technical problems on its own , but finally lead to fuel - effective wing :
In the sixties and ’ 70s , aerospace engineer attempt to address the problem by seeking exact mathematical equations or relying on suspicion . Dr. Garabedian , who lead off his career as a pure mathematician working on fond differential equations , was one of the first to realize that computer model could put up accurate - enough approximations .
Indeed , his computer simulations showed it was potential to design a wing that produced no shock waves at all .
“ That had quite a lot of wallop around the industry , ” said Antony Jameson , an engineering prof at Stanford who collaborated with Dr. Garabedian on the extension work .
Dr. Garabedian ’s technique produced wing that were “ shock devoid ” for only specific values of speed and elevator , so his shock - complimentary wing designs were of limited virtual use for aerospace engineers and never became the foundation for the actual design of airplanes . all the same , the fact that there was a shock - barren solution “ change hoi polloi ’s thought , ” Dr. Jameson said .
Dr. Garabedian lost a battle to prostate cancer on May 13 . [ NYT ]
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