Courtesy Photo | Arnold Engineering Development Complex Fellow Wendell S. Norman is remembered for his...... read more read more
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. – AEDC Fellow Wendell S. Norman will be remembered for his contributions to Arnold Engineering Development Complex following his passing on Nov. 4, 2024, at the age of 91.
Norman is credited for making sustained and significant contributions to AEDC in advanced hypersonic test facilities, ground test and evaluation of aerospace systems, and innovative test and evaluation technologies and management approaches throughout his career at Arnold Air Force Base, headquarters of AEDC. He was honored as an AEDC Fellow in 2004. The AEDC Fellows program, established in 1989, recognizes AEDC personnel who have made substantial and exceptionally distinguished contributions to the nation’s aerospace ground testing capability.
Norman earned his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Kentucky in 1956. He would later earn a Master of Science and doctorate from Purdue University in aeronautical engineering in 1958 and 1961, respectively.
During his time as a first lieutenant in the Air Force from 1961-64, Norman served as an associate professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado where he taught courses in aerodynamics, flight mechanics and space flight mechanics.
Afterward, Norman spent most of the rest of the career with Sverdrup Technology Inc., with both its corporate headquarters and at contract sites including AEDC.
Norman began his career at Arnold AFB in 1964, serving as principal contributor in the Hypervelocity Branch of the von Kármán Gas Dynamics Facility, or VKF.
From the start of his career to 1971, Norman’s roles in the VKF progressed from project engineering to branch manager of the Hypervelocity Branch. In 1971, he moved into the position of deputy director for testing and manager of the Aerodynamics Project Branch in the VKF.
Norman was acknowledged for providing invaluable expertise that bolstered the development of Air Force, space exploration and weapons systems, and he displayed his proficiency during his early roles at AEDC.
“The challenge he and other team members faced and overcame was in getting Tunnel F, an arc heater impulse tunnel, into a mode to deliver valuable data,” the AEDC website states. “Lessons he learned along the way led to troubleshooting methodologies he successfully applied to ever more complex test articles and to sorting out the discrepancies between data obtained from test and operational flights of [intercontinental ballistic missiles] and space re-entry vehicles.”
More specifically, Norman helped NASA with the Apollo Command Module and the Viking reentry system, in addition to helping bolster the development of Air Force systems and assisting the ICBM community by assessing foreign ICBMs.
“From being in a position to review much test data, Dr. Norman was able to shed light on some very interesting tunnel tests,” Virgil Smith, who was inducted as an AEDC Fellow in 1997, wrote in his Fellows nomination of Norman. “For the Apollo Command Module and the NASA Viking Mars Reentry Vehicle, there were troubling inconsistencies between the test data and data from other sources. By taking into account differences in the two physical setups, he was able to determine the sources of the differences in the results and resolve the anomalies. For the [Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory] Blunted Delta Wing and the High Altitude Plume Test, he was able to apply fundamental considerations to determine parameters that helped the interpretation of the data. These efforts helped to establish the validity of the test data to the users and were early examples of an AEDC Analysis & Evaluation effort.
“In addition, Dr. Norman’s expertise in hypervelocity aerodynamics was recognized by the ICBM community, and he was selected to serve as technical advisor to the Foreign Technology Division in the study of foreign reentry vehicles, and in particular how to determine characteristics of the vehicle from external flight test data. This involved developing ways to use base pressure and dynamic characteristics as means of determining the configuration. These results contributed significantly to assessments of ICBM threats to this nation.”
In 1976, Norman took on the role of director of the VKF and Propulsion Wind Tunnel facilities at AEDC. In this capacity, he directed approximately 500 engineers and craftsmen in the operation and maintenance of wind tunnels, ballistic ranges and space chambers. He implemented the consolidation of the various flow diagnostics groups in multiple organizations at AEDC.
“This innovative group of scientists and engineers grew into a major asset for AEDC, one that became a primary supporter of ballistic missile detection and defense,” according to the AEDC Fellows webpage.
He would advance further in 1979 when he became director of the Test Operations Division at Arnold, directing around 1,100 engineers and craftsmen in support of all propulsion and aerodynamic test programs at AEDC, among other responsibilities.
Norman became chief scientist and director of advanced technology at AEDC in the early 1980s. He directed the activities of 80 senior engineering and scientists in advanced technology efforts to support Sverdrup’s AEDC aeropropulsion contract.
In addition to his managerial skill and practical background in testing, Norman is credited for his initiation of computer methods for resource control and management of project information.
“He made the first AEDC study that gave in detail the computer requirements necessary to make use of the emerging numerical techniques, such as computational fluid dynamic and structural analysis techniques,” Smith wrote in his nomination. “Many others had pointed out that significant improvements to the development processes for both weapons systems and test facilities were possible by addressing problems jointly with an experimental and analytical techniques. This study project the computer requirements that would support such an effort. Computer resources of this type were provided at [AEDC] beginning in the late 70s.”
After Sverdrup’s corporate headquarters was awarded a new engineering support contract with the NASA Lewis Research Center, Norman in 1983 assumed the role of vice president and general manager of the Sverdrup group at the center, now known as the Glenn Research Center, in Cleveland, Ohio. He was responsible for a staff that grew to hundreds to provide scientific and technical support for center efforts in aeromechanics, space technologies, structures and materials, and computer science.
Norman was named a senior vice president with Sverdrup in 1989. He was tasked with overseeing Sverdrup’s technical support organizations at the Ohio center, as well as contract operations in Florida and Utah.
Norman was adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee Space Institute from 1964 to 1983. He also served on the Engineering Accreditation Commission from 1980-89, serving on its Executive Committee from 1983-85. He traveled to universities across the country for evaluation of engineering programs. He was also a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Sigma Xi, and the Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers.
Along with his induction as an AEDC Fellow, awards and honors Norman received include the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award from Purdue University in 1978, Outstanding Aerospace Engineer for the School of Aeronautics & Astronautics from Purdue in 1999 and a place in the University of Kentucky School of Engineering Hall of Distinction in 2008.
Following his retirement from Sverdrup, Norman audited several classes at Middle Tennessee State University each semester in an array of subjects.
| Date Taken: | 11.14.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.18.2024 08:58 |
| Story ID: | 485320 |
| Location: | ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENNESSEE, US |
| Web Views: | 8 |
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