Mar 2 2001
From The Space Library
Wallace D. Hayes, an aeronautical engineer and longtime Princeton University professor, died at age 82 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. His colleagues referred to Hayes as “a giant in his field,” Hayes had helped design the first planes that could safely break the sound barrier. Hayes’s 1959 book Hypersonic Flow Theory had outlined the scientific principles behind hypersonic flight, as well as the necessary technology to accomplish it. Although decades passed before his theories produced functional aircraft, many consider Hayes the father of high-speed flight. According to Robert Probstein, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “Every supersonic aircraft, in my opinion, owes to him their design.” Hayes had worked with NASA and a handful of elite American universities during his stellar career. In his association with NASA, he had worked to limit sonic booms from supersonic jets, an achievement that enabled supersonic jets to travel freely over populated areas. (Mark Mueller, “Aerospace Pioneer Wallace Hayes Dies~ Obituary,” Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ), 11 March 2001.)
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