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ERNEST EDWIN SECHLER
1905-1979
BY HANS W. LIEPMANN
ERNEST E SECHLER Professor of Aeronautics Emeritus at the Cali-
fornia Institute of Technology (Caltech), died on August 14, 1979.
Born in Pueblo, Colorado, on November 17, 1905, Dr. Sechler
entered Caltech as a freshman in 1924 and remained there all his
life. He obtained his B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering and
joined the small group of students and faculty who helped Theodore
van Karman build an aeronautics institute at Caltech, which
became world famous under the acronym GALCIT. Ernest Sechler
was the first recipient of an M.S. in aeronautics at Caltech and one
of von Karman's first Ph.D. 's, with a thesis on the ultimate compres-
sive strength of thin sheet metal panels. Much of his later research
direction was set in this early, now classical, work and in his subse-
quent study of shell structures.
The impact of aeronautics on engineering in those early days was
remarkable. Suddenly a field was opened where large safety, or
rather ignorance, factors could not be tolerated. Structures had to be
light but fail-safe, and the aerodynamic forces had to be predicted
with great accuracy. Dr. Sechler chose the first path, and the devel-
opment of light, fail-safe structures became the main theme of his
professional life.
It became evident that thin-shell structures were not restricted to
airplanes; the design of the Palomar Observatory to house the new
200-inch mirror called for a large, movable dome. The cooperation
of Theodore van Karman and Ernest Sechler, with their experience
and knowledge of thin shells, resulted in the first monocoque observ-
259
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260
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
atory dome, a thin-shell structure of remarkable resistance. Needless
to say, the development of missiles and, in particular, large booster
rockets called for thin-walled structures as well.
His two books, Airplane Structural Arzalys~s and Design, written with
L. G. Dunn, and Elasticity art Engineering, were published in 1942 and
1952, respectively. Both were republished as Dover paperbacks in
the 1960s and currently retain their place on engineering shelves.
While Dr. Sechler's research contributions to lightweight struc-
tures are well known, only the more intimate circle of colleagues and
students at GALCIT know of his contributions to education. During
most of his academic career he was largely responsible for the admis-
sion of students to GALCIT and, in addition, was influential in
student affairs throughout Caltech. He had an unbelievably intuitive
understanding of the potential of an incoming student. In the forty
years or so of my own recollection, I cannot remember a single case
where his predictions were wrong. This unusual gift was most
important in the development of the graduate school of aeronautics
at Caltech.
Dr. Sechler's impact on engineering construction at Caltech is also
noteworthy. He had a hand in the design of both the 10-foot wind
tunnel and the cooperative wind tunnel. He influenced the construc-
tion of most experimental facilities in the institute and was well
known for his commonsense approach to technical design problems,
both at Caltech and in industry. Indeed, his consulting services for
the aerospace industry, as well as for the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration and other government agencies, will be
remembered for a long time.
Ernest Sechler was a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronau-
tics and Astronautics and held memberships in the American Associ-
ation for the Advancement of Science and the California Academy
of Sciences. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering
in 1979.
Dr. Sechler's work will continue for a long time through the
GALCIT students he influenced, many of whom are now leaders in
industry and education.
He is survived by his wife, Margaret Nelson Sechler; his daugh-
ter, Lorraine Sechler Emery; and two grandsons, Jeff and Brett
Emery.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
remarkable resistance
