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Memorial Tributes: Volume 22 (2019)

Chapter: ROBERT C. FORNEY

« Previous: ALEXANDER H. FLAX
Suggested Citation:"ROBERT C. FORNEY." National Academy of Engineering. 2019. Memorial Tributes: Volume 22. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25543.
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He was repeatedly honored, starting early in his career with the Lawrence Sperry Award (1949) from the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences (now the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, AIAA); distinguished service medals from the Air Force (1961, 1969), NASA (1968), DIA (1974), and Department of Defense (1983); the General Thomas D. White US Air Force Space Trophy (1966); the von Kármán Medal (1978) from the Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development (AGARD-NATO); and the Clifford Furnas Award (1986) from SUNY Buffalo. He was a Wright Brothers Lecturer for AIAA and a Wilbur and Orville Wright Memorial Lecturer for the British Royal Aeronautical Society.

He was selected to receive the 2007 Guggenheim Medal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), AIAA, American Helicopter Society (AHS), and Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) “for outstanding contributions to aerospace engineering in aeroelasticity, unsteady aerodynamics, and flight mechanics, and for exceptional leadership of engineering organizations including service to the US Department of Defense.”

In addition to his NAE membership, he was an honorary fellow of AIAA, was named Elder Statesman of Aviation by the National Aeronautic Association, and was inducted into the Niagara Frontier Aviation Hall of Fame.

Dr. Flax was a genius at repairing old hardware. He also enjoyed a “hobby” of writing out long differential and integral equations on any paper available, including the margins in the TV Guide and scraps of cardboard.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Ida Leane Warren Flax, an Army cryptanalyst during World War II and a mathematician who worked on pioneering aircraft at the Piasecki Helicopter Company in the 1940s. She died in 2011. They are survived by their daughter Laurel Flax and many nieces and nephews.

Al is warmly remembered by his colleagues and the many who benefited from his wise advice and counsel. He was truly one of the giants of the aerospace and defense world.

Suggested Citation:"ROBERT C. FORNEY." National Academy of Engineering. 2019. Memorial Tributes: Volume 22. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25543.
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Suggested Citation:"ROBERT C. FORNEY." National Academy of Engineering. 2019. Memorial Tributes: Volume 22. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25543.
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ROBERT C. FORNEY

1927–2016

Elected in 1989

“For leadership of chemical engineering research, innovative process developments, and creative technology management.”

BY ALEXANDER MACLACHLAN1

ROBERT CLYDE FORNEY died August 3, 2016, at the age of 89. He was born March 13, 1927, in Chicago, to Peter Clyde and Hildur Hogland Forney.

If ever there was a role model for how a life should be led, Bob Forney illustrates one to near perfection. Possessed of enormous technical and managerial talent, which he applied throughout his career at E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, he shared those talents with many outside organizations and people. It is a pleasure to enumerate the many ways this vigorous, principled, and brilliant man gave back to others during his life.

He was an outstanding student at Purdue University (1944–50), where he received a BS and PhD in chemical engineering and an MS in industrial engineering. In 1948 he married his classmate Marilyn Glenn.

Immediately after graduation he joined the DuPont Company as an engineer. His ability to get things done right was soon recognized and he was put on the management fast track. To anyone who knew Bob it was quickly apparent that this was a man of amazing analytical abilities. And he was not

___________________

1 I appreciate valuable comments and suggestions from Marilyn Forney, Bob’s widow, who allowed me to visit her to discuss this tribute.

Suggested Citation:"ROBERT C. FORNEY." National Academy of Engineering. 2019. Memorial Tributes: Volume 22. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25543.
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only driven by facts and figures, he was also kind. This was evident in his work as he oversaw some of the most important advances in industrial polymer and synthetic fiber manufacture, while he took care in teaching and professionally developing those who reported to him.

He moved rapidly through assignments at DuPont, including the development of many new polymeric resins, most notably Dacron polyester fiber. Following this and other achievements he was selected to head one of DuPont’s major businesses, the Textile Fibers Department. He went on to become a member of the company’s executive committee, which managed all the major capital investments and business strategies.

Bob’s reputation extended beyond DuPont. He was elected to the NAE in 1989 and served on 19 studies and panels as either chair or contributing member. For example, he was a member of the National Research Council Panel on Technical Evaluation of NASA’s Proposed Redesign of the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster, which led to greatly improved safety of all subsequent space shuttle missions. For this service he received the prestigious NASA Public Service Award as well as the highly coveted “Silver Snoopy” award.

He was also a trustee for the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, and chair of the board for the Chemical Manufacturers Association (1988–89) and Advisory Board of the National Science Resources Center (a joint venture of the Smithsonian Institution and National Research Council; 1987–90), to mention just a few. As was always the case, when Bob agreed to participate in anything, he did so with effectiveness and enthusiasm.

As someone who worked directly under Bob for several years I can bear witness to his brilliance as an administrator and as a developer of people. He was known as a great guy to work for because of his demanding standards tempered by great humanity.

Bob never forgot the debt he owed to Purdue. He was a member of the Purdue Research Foundation for two decades and cochaired the Class of 1947 Scholarship Fund. The

Suggested Citation:"ROBERT C. FORNEY." National Academy of Engineering. 2019. Memorial Tributes: Volume 22. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25543.
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Suggested Citation:"ROBERT C. FORNEY." National Academy of Engineering. 2019. Memorial Tributes: Volume 22. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25543.
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Page 110
Suggested Citation:"ROBERT C. FORNEY." National Academy of Engineering. 2019. Memorial Tributes: Volume 22. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25543.
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Page 111
Suggested Citation:"ROBERT C. FORNEY." National Academy of Engineering. 2019. Memorial Tributes: Volume 22. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25543.
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Page 112
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This is the 22nd Volume in the series Memorial Tributes compiled by the National Academy of Engineering as a personal remembrance of the lives and outstanding achievements of its members and foreign associates. These volumes are intended to stand as an enduring record of the many contributions of engineers and engineering to the benefit of humankind. In most cases, the authors of the tributes are contemporaries or colleagues who had personal knowledge of the interests and the engineering accomplishments of the deceased. Through its members and foreign associates, the Academy carries out the responsibilities for which it was established in 1964.

Under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering was formed as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. Members are elected on the basis of significant contributions to engineering theory and practice and to the literature of engineering or on the basis of demonstrated unusual accomplishments in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology. The National Academies share a responsibility to advise the federal government on matters of science and technology. The expertise and credibility that the National Academy of Engineering brings to that task stem directly from the abilities, interests, and achievements of our members and foreign associates, our colleagues and friends, whose special gifts we remember in this book.

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