California Institute of Technology Cal Tech - Big T Yearbook (Pasadena, CA)

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DEPARTMENTS PROFESSOR ROBERT L. DAUCHERTY The Department of Mechanical Engineering The Mechanical Engineering department, un- der the supervision of Professor Robert L. Daugherty, has as its aim to give work, both in theory and practice. It is the practice of the department to arrange for tests to be made out- side of school in industrial plants, and other places, in order to give practical knowledge to those taking the work. There is extensive research being carried on in a number of lines this year. The following investigations are being conducted: experimen- tal investigation of induced turbulence in annu- lar tubesg investigation of the characteristics of a centrifugal pump under abnormal conditionsg development of an optical type of diiferential pressure gaugeg investigation of new methods for determining instantaneous velocities in liquids moving at relatively high speedsg a study of relative properties of commercial au- tomotive lubricating oilsg diffusion of manga- nese in irong effect of rapidity of breaking on the energy requiredg and elongation and con- traction of tensile test specimens. It is interest- ing to note the variety of the researches that are being conducted, and most of them are of prac- tical importance. Twenty

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f ' f 7 ,,, ua ,,,f,,, 1 fy,,,, -. , ,,,,,,,,.,,ff, , 4 f ' Qt Zliizzi f I if D E P A R T M E N T S ,,,,-.inf , ,,,,,,.,-, 'ff ,, . ,,,, ,, . , , , ,, , ff 'f g.,f7gg4fffg2g2gf:0 f ' a232,w'ff1'ff:z1-r'- , f-., 5 33 ft fa- ' , - , PROFESSOR FRANKLIN THOMAS The Department of Civil Engineering More and more opportunities are to be had in the Civil Engineering department for re- search in structural engineering, irrigation, power development, highway engineering, dam construction, and the like due to the increased facilities' of the department, and the capability of the staff of instructors. Professor Franklin Thomas, head of the Civil Engineering depart- ment, is Vice-Chairman of the Board of Direc- tors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Professor Romeo R. Mar- tel, professor of Structural Engineering, is es- pecially interested in the effect of earthquakes on structures. One of the men of the department is working on a new form of shaking table for investiga- tion of the effect of vibration upon buildings and building frames. This research is being carried on with the view of finding an index of both the nature of the stresses that develop in frames under vibration, and a quantitative meas- ure of the stresses themselves. There has, just been completed an extensive investigation of the rate of percolation of water in stream beds. fy. ,Q .V f 4, ,- yn, f , ,, . Qc, -0,4 ,4 ,,,, -,,f , ., ,, I 4 ' f'31 'IMA QQ f f Nineteen

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I fi ,- f'--,aw f Az., f f f -. .,,, f.,-fffyamff , f , . -f,f,,,,,,f,,,5 fir .f Q1 .-rf: , f r . ff ,,,f . in D E P A R T M E N T S Zia PROFESSOR VON KARMAN The Department of Aeronautics Witli the aid of the Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics, the California Institute of Technology has established a Grad- uate School of Aeronautics and has constructed the Daniel Guggenheim Laboratory of Aeronau- tics, containing the ten foot high-speed wind tunnel. Recently the Daniel Guggenheim Fund provided funds for the Airship Institute, which is located at Akron, Ohio. This laboratory con- tains a six foot Wind tunnel and other experi- mental facilities for lighter-than-air research, so that the Institute will carry on theoretical and experimental work in the lighter-than-air field both at Pasadena and Akron. Both laboratories are under the direction of Dr. T. von Karman, who is in charge of the experimental and theo- retical researches. Experimental and theoretical researches are conducted on the basic problems of How in real fluids, with regard to the scientific foundations of technical hydro and aerodynamics. The basic problems of applied mechanics, which relate to the properties of materials and the theory of elasticity, and practical problems in aerody- namics and structures, are also included in the research conducted by the department. ,IU -4. ,ff ff-,L V Q sf' 0 ff? TT ,X W' M 2 Twenty-one