George M. Palmer
Professor Emeritus
School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University
BSAE 1945
"Purdue provided me with not only an excellent technical education, but many other values on interacting with people and groups to carry through life."
Professor Emeritus George Palmer has been an integral part of campus since first coming to Purdue University as an undergraduate student in September 1941. He worked tirelessly to create the wind tunnel program that Purdue is known for today. While serving as a faculty member for Purdue School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, he was more than just an advisor, teacher and esteemed leader. To many, he was the driving force behind student education, a professional resource, a personal friend, or a mentor who is held in the highest regard. He has impacted the lives of thousands of students during his tenure at Purdue with the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
As an undergraduate, Palmer joined Acacia Fraternity and the Purdue Band under the Directorship of Paul "Spotts" Emrick where he played trumpet in the Symphonic Band and the Marching Band for two years. His second year he was a Sergeant and Quartermaster.
In 1943, in his junior year, he worked for Prof. Wood as an aerodynamics paper grader. He was made a member of Tau Beta Pi and Pi Tau Sigma and joined the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences. At the end of his junior year he was awarded a Scholarship in the Development Engineering Dept. at Consolidated Vultee Aircraft in San Diego, CA. As a Flight Test Engineer during the multiphase two- semester program, he made several test flights in the single tail and twin tail prototype X-B32 Bomber measuring control force data expanding the airplane envelope. He also worked in Design and Manufacturing of Parts as well as Assembly.
He returned to Purdue for his senior year in 1944 and worked for Professor Elmer Bruhn as a structures paper grader and as an Aerodynamics Instructor teaching in the Curtiss Wright Cadette program.
Through the influence of Wood and Bruhn, and that of Professor Joe Liston, Palmer was convinced that he wanted to teach. He received his bachelor's degree in Aeronautical Engineering in February 1945 with distinction.
Following graduation, he returned to Consolidated in San Diego and was assigned to the Stability and Control and Aerodynamics Research Department. There, he worked on the design of the X-B46, a 4 jet 500 mph Bomber until the end of WWII.
He entered the California Institute of Technology Graduate School in September 1946 for his master's degree and was excused from their fifth year Graduate Airplane Design Curriculum and allowed to take the sixth year PhD. Theoretical and Supersonic Aerodynamics Major from Profs. Clark Millikan and Hans Liepman. With Minors in Structures, Design of Instruments and Accurate Mechanisms and The Financial Policy of Corporations. During the two semesters he worked for Allen Puckett in the Supersonic Tunnel Laboratory. Dr. Allen Puckettl PhD, CalTech, 1949 under Dr. Von Karman. He took employment with Hughes Aircraft and advanced rapidly to President and then Chairman of the Board. Palmer said it was a great and valuable experience to work for him.
Upon returning in the fall of 1945, he took another sixth year Ph.D. major in Jet Propulsion and Rocketry, taught jointly with JPL personnel.
His theoretical thesis under Professor Paco Lagerstrom was entitled, "The Downwash Distribution Behind a Delta Wing at Supersonic Speed." He was awarded membership in Sigma Xi on the 15th of April 1947. He was awarded the Degree of Aeronautical Engineer from Caltech in June of 1947.
He accepted a position with the School of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering in July 1947. He was assigned by Professor Solberg with the rank or Instructor to the proposed Rocket Lab under Prof. M.J. Zucrow to work on the initial design of the lab and to its use. He was the Labs first full-time engineer, and in January 1948, he taught the first graduate course on Super Sonic Aerodynamics in the school.
While at the lab in 1948, Palmer wrote a performance parameter paper on isothermal expansion from the throat of a rocket motor for space propulsion. He also designed the Lab's first liquid propelled rocket motor for test stand use.
After a number of projects in the development of the lab, he transferred to the School of Aeronautical Engineering, which had become an independent school, in 1949 to teach and do aerodynamic research. Bruhn, the head of the School, assigned him to design and complete the wind tunnel project that was planned to be a vertical tunnel with the test section at a balcony level. With Bruhn's approval, Palmer changed it to a horizontal tunnel with the test section accessible at floor level. The faculty wanted a low turbulence tunnel in order to study boundary layer flow. This required the design of a strong structure to support taut fine screens. Palmer used students for drafting and assembly help as well as outside contractors for metal sections to complete this large facility. The wind tunnel was completed by 1950 and provided for many years of student projects.
Later, Palmer configured a 12-foot diameter turn table at the end of the diffuser to the 3 foot by 4.5 test section, and removed the air exchanger, thereby providing an open test section for large buildings. This modification allowed Purdue to become an outstanding higher educational institute for testing of building designs and post mortems that occur due to wind. He tested in some 35 buildings, such as I. M, Pei's Raffles International Center in Singapore, the John Hancock Building in Boston, the National Gallery of Art in D.C. The modification not only allowed testing of tall buildings for pressure distribution and forces, both static and dynamic, but allowed testing of large scale Exxon Mobile Oil and Gas Ships and a variety of Truck models and Greyhound Bus models.
A standard set of truck models by SAE, accompanied by an engineer, were sent around the U.S. and Canada and tested in tunnels to evaluate the tunnel's capability. Purdue's tunnel results fell in the middle of all those tested.
Palmer taught the senior capstone course, Airplane Design from 1955-87.
During 41 years, Palmer taught Stability and Control, Airplane Aerodynamics, Jet Propulsion and Rocketry, Space Propulsion and 490, 590 and 690 Special Individual Projects, which frequently used the wind tunnel. He received the Outstanding Professor award in 1967.
During his tenure at Purdue, Palmer was a consultant on the design of the air-flow and combustion for asphalt and aggregate mixing machines and for grain drying machines, in both cases stationary and mobile units. He was also a consultant to Allison Division of General Motors on low thrust space propulsion research.
While he was Director of the Aerospace Sciences Lab, he was asked for one year's help to be the Director of the Fluid Mechanics Lab, a division of the Indianapolis Center for Advanced Research (ICFAR), which was managed by Indiana University. This required MWF at ICFAR and TTH at the Aero Space Sciences Lab.
Upon retiring from Purdue in 1987, Palmer took a position of Vice President for Research and Development with Dynamic Corporation of Montmorenci, Indiana, a manufacturer of large electrical resistance grids for dynamic braking for GM EMD, GE Electromotive and Asea Brown Boveri. The six mega watts of heat produced required powerful fans, or blowers, to keep the grids from melting. Palmer has co-publications in the SAE Transactions Scientific American and AIAA.
He was a two-term chairman of the Central Indiana Section of AIAA, Advisory Board Member for several years and on the Regional Advisory Committee (RAC 3). He is an Associate Fellow of AIAA.