LAUFER

HUNGARY (see also List of Individuals)

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22.9.1921 Székesférhvár/H - 9.7.1983 Columbia SC/USA

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John (János) Laufer came to the USA in 1939 and was naturalized there in 1949. He was a physicist at the National Bureau of Standards NBS, Washington DC from 1949 to 1952, then until 1958 a senior research engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, and from 1960 to 1964 chief of its section gas dynamics. Laufer was appointed professor and Department chairman of Aerospace Engineering at the University of South Carolina, a position he kept until death. In parallel he was a consultant for the industry. He was the recipient of the Distinguished Faculty Award in 1967, was both a Guggenheim and a Fulbright-Hays Fellow in 1958, and a NATO Senior Fellow in Science in 1977. In that year he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering also for his "contributions to the understanding of turbulence, and the creation and leadership of an educational center of excellence in aerospace engineering".

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Laufer is internationally known for his contributions to fluid mechanics. Several of his contribution to the literature of turbulence are classic. Laufer had the opportunity to develop his experimental skills to an exceptional level. His research at NBS on turbulent pipe flow remains the definite work on the subject, after Johann Nikuradse (1894-1979) and Ludwig Prandtl (1875-1953) had investigated the boundary layer features and the roughness effect of pipe flow in the 1930s. As a consultant for the Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development AGARD, Laufer lectured on turbulence in France, Italy, Germany and Holland in 1958-59. He also served as an Editorial Board Member for the journals Physics of Fluids, and of Applied Mechanics Review. His combination of ability and charming personality left a lasting impression on everyone who came in contact with him.

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_{Anonymous (1949). Fluid Mechanics Panel: John Laufer. Aeronautical Engineering Review}

_{8(4): 35. P}

_{Anonymous (1985). Laufer, John. Who's who in engineering 6: 380. American Association of Engineering Sciences: Washington DC.}

_{Laufer, J. (1954). Natl. Advisory Commission Aeronautics NACA Technical Report 1174. Liepmann, H.W., Laufer, J. (1947). National Advisory Commission of Aeronautics NACA Technical Note 1257.}

_{Liepmann, H.W. (1984). John Laufer. Memorial tributes: 159-161. National Academies Press: Washington DC.}