Maurice Nelles

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Maurice Nelles
Born(1906-10-19)October 19, 1906
DiedAugust 30, 1996(1996-08-30) (aged 89)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of South Dakota
Harvard University
Scientific career
InstitutionsLockheed Corporation

University of Southern California
Pennsylvania State University

University of Virginia

Maurice Nelles (October 19, 1906 - August 30, 1998)[1] was an engineer, business executive and professor.[2]

Early life and education[edit]

Nelles was born in Madison, South Dakota. Nelles earned a bachelor's degree in 1927 and a master's degree in 1928, both from the University of South Dakota and earned a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1934.[2][3] While at Harvard, he held the Charles A. Coffin Fellowship and the George H. Emerson and Harvard scholarships.[3]

Career[edit]

During World War II, Nelles worked at Lockheed Corporation and the War Production Board.[2] While at Lockheed, Nelles and his coworkers Morlan A. Visel and Ernest L. Black proposed a "Pacific Research Foundation" which eventually became SRI International.[4]

After Lockheed, Nelles became a professor of aeronautical engineering at the University of Southern California, where he designed the laboratory ship Velero IV.[2] In 1949 he oversaw Otis Barton's record-breaking 4500 ft deep sea dive off of Santa Cruz Island in a benthoscope that Nelles had designed.[2][5] He would also teach at Pennsylvania State University and the University of Virginia.[2]

He served as the director of research for Borg Warner, Technicolor, Crane, and Westinghouse.[2] He was later a consultant to the National Academy of Sciences.[6]

Nelles died August 30, 1998, in La Jolla, California.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Maurice Nelles". Social Security Death Index. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Harvard University Obituary and Death Notice Collection - 104". 2011-01-18. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
  3. ^ a b IEEE transactions on engineering management. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. 1954. p. 52.
  4. ^ Nielson, Donald (2006). A Heritage of Innovation: SRI's First Half Century. SRI International. pp. F1-4. ISBN 978-0-9745208-1-0.
  5. ^ "New Diving Bell May Reach 20,000 Foot Depth - Dr. Nelles" (PDF). The Daily Collegian. 1950-12-09. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-03. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
  6. ^ "Catalytic converters 'wasteful'". The Deseret News. 1973-07-04. Retrieved 2011-12-28.