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JOHN LAUFER
1921-1983
BY HANS W. LIEPMANN
jOHN LAUFER, Chairman of the Department of Aerospace Engi-
neering at the University of Southern California (USC), died on
July 9, 1983. He was sixty-one years old. John Laufer is internation-
ally known for his work in fluid mechanics. In particular, several of
his contributions to the literature of turbulence are classics in the
field. He founded and led the Aerospace Engineering Department at
USC to its present state of preeminence. This contribution today
almost overshadows his technical work.
ianos Lauder was born in Szekesfehervar, Hungary, on Septem-
ber 22, 1921. In the ominous political atmosphere of the late 1930s,
his parents chose to send him to live with relatives in Baton Rouge,
where he obtained a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering at Loui-
siana State University in 1942. Subsequently he was accepted for
graduate study in aeronautics at the California Institute of Technol-
ogy (Caltech). He obtained M.S., A.E., and Ph.D. degrees at
Caltech in 1943, 1944, and 1948, respectively.
John Lauter, as he was called in this country, arrived at Caltech at
a time when intense research activity in turbulence, stimulated by
Theodore von Karman, was just beginning. Dr. Lauder kept up his
interest in this field to the end of his days. His thesis on turbulent
channel flow and his early work on turbulent mixing layers and on
isotropic turbulence are still read and used today. He remained at
Caltech as a research fellow until 1949, when he joined the National
Bureau of Standards (NBS). There, in the fluid physics group led by
159
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160
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
Hugh Dryden and Galen Schubauer, Dr. Laufer had the opportu-
nity to develop his experimental skills to an exceptional level. His
research at NBS on turbulent pipe flow remains the definitive work
on the subject, a true classic. In 1952 he moved to the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory where he remained until 1964, first as a Senior Research
Engineer and then as Chief of the Gas Dynamics Section. In 1964 he
accepted a position as Professor and Chairman of the Aerospace
Engineering Department at the University of Southern California,
posts that he held until his death in 1983.
John Lauder served on a number of national and international
committees. As a consultant for the Advisory Group for Aeronauti-
cal Research and Development (AGARD), he lectured on turbu-
lence in France, Italy, Germany, and Holland in 1958-1959. He was
a member of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's
Advisory Committee on Fluid Mechanics from 1960 to 1964. He
was a member of the Board of Editors of the Physics of Fluids from
1965 to 1967 and again from 1970 to 1972. He served as Associate
Editor of Applied Mechanics Reviews beginning in 1969. As a Fellow of
the American Physical Society, Dr. Laufer was a member of the
Executive Committee of the Division of Fluid Dynamics. As a Fel-
low of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, he
was a member of the Aeroacoustic Technical Committee. He was
elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1977 for his
contributions to fluid mechanics and for leadership of his academic
department.
The accomplishments, honors, and published papers of John
Lauder fail to measure the total impact that he had on his co-work-
ers, students, and the engineering community. His combination of
ability and charming personality left a lasting impression on every-
one who came in contact with him. This combination, together with
a quiet tenacity of purpose, was the key to his success in developing
his department at USC to its present state as one of the leading
centers of turbulence research in the country.
John LauSer's tenacity of purpose became apparent early in 1945
while he was still a student in the last stages of his Ph.D. research.
He managed to return to Europe and find and marry his childhood
love, Susan Ullman, who had just been freed from a concentration
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JOHN LAUFER
161
camp. It was little short of miraculous for a student with few
resources to succeed in such a nearly impossible task in war-torn
Europe at that time. The marriage thus begun was a lasting and
happy one.
In spite of his history and background both of his parents died as
victims of Hitler- John Laufer was able to live without prejudice or
bitterness. He was at peace with himself, a gentle man. He died too
young, but he died on the tennis court, painlessly, enjoying a game
that he loved: a harmonious end to a full and happy life.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
fluid mechanics
