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Research and Development

Solar Energy and Energy Conversion Laboratory
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Research and DevelopmentEra: 1950-1959DateCreated: 1954University of Florida
GainesvilleState: FLCountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/research-and-development/-223-solar-energy-and-energy-conversion-laboratory, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/6ab985e7-a7b5-4c91-b4d7-8c32af04334c/223-Solar-Energy-and-Energy-Conversion-Laboratory.aspxCreator: Farber, Erich

This highly diverse facility has pioneered the development of solar energy applications worldwide. The Solar Energy and Energy Conversion Laboratory (SEECL) was unique in developing practical solar energy devices based on established principles of thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid mechanics long before solar energy was considered a serious energy alternative.

YearAdded:
2003
Image Credit: Courtesy ASMEImage Caption: The SEECL was originally located at the Gianesville Regional Airport. Early experimental devices stood on the pad near the WW II bunker (early 1950s).Era_date_from: 1954
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Research and DevelopmentEra: 1960-1969DateCreated: 1962Stanford Linear AcceleratorMenlo ParkState: CAZip: 94028Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/research-and-development/-92-stanford-linear-accelerator-center-%281962%29, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/f8e54d6f-6e0d-4f7d-ad3a-ff357142f07b/92-Stanford-Linear-Accelerator-Center-1962.aspxCreator: Stanford University

The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center was renamed in 2009 to the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

Notable for: unique electromechanical devices and systems in the longest accelerator in the world

YearAdded:
1984
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Jeff Keyser (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Stanford Linear Accelerator CenterEra_date_from: 1962
NASA Ames Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Research and DevelopmentEra: 1950-1959DateCreated: 1956NASA Ames Research CenterMoffett FieldState: CAZip: 94035Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/research-and-development/-187-nasa-ames-unitary-plan-wind-tunnel-%281956%29

This wind tunnel complex was developed by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NASA's predecessor) to serve the emerging need for supersonic research and development following World War II. The three-testing-section configuration covers Mach number .03-3.5 and utilizes a single common drive and two compressors.

YearAdded:
1996
Image Credit: Public Domain (NASA)Image Caption: NASA Ames Unitary Plan Wind TunnelEra_date_from: 1956
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Research and DevelopmentEra: 1910-1919DateCreated: 1918PasadenaState: CACountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/research-and-development/-66-mount-wilson-observatory,-100-inch-hooker-teleCreator: Pease, Francis G. , Hale, George Ellery
The increased light-grasp of this telescope made possible many notable advances in structural cosmology between 1924 and 1930, which have revised our ideas about the universe. One of these advances was that spiral nebulae are galactic units like our own; another was the idea of an expanding universe. George Ellery Hale began planning this project in 1906; Francis G. Pease was the chief designer and mechanical engineer. The telescope's mirror support and the use of mercury flotation to reduce the friction are among its outstanding mechanical engineering features.
YearAdded:
1981
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Bruce Irving (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: Mount Wilson Observatory, 100-inch Hooker TelescopeEra_date_from: 1918
McKinley Climatic Laboratory
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Research and DevelopmentEra: 1940-1949DateCreated: 194446th Test WingEglin AFBState: FLZip: 32542Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/research-and-development/-116-mckinley-climatic-laboratory-%281944%29Creator: McKinley, Ashley, U.S. Army Air Force

Designed and constructed in the early 1940s, this laboratory has an unequalled capacity to simulate a wide range of climatic conditions from arctic cold to jungle moisture. Data from tests of some three hundred different aircraft and over two thousand items of equipment has provided information vital to the performance, safety, and reliability of aircraft operating in extremes of weather.

YearAdded:
1987
Image Credit: Public Domain (United States Air Force)Image Caption: McKinley Climatic LaboratoryEra_date_from: 1944
Icing Research Tunnel, NASA Lewis Research Center
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Research and DevelopmentEra: 1940-1949DateCreated: 1944Glenn Research CenterClevelandState: OHZip: 44135Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/research-and-development/-117-icing-research-tunnel,-nasa-lewis-research-ce, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/f9fb127c-7ba2-4b73-ba34-75fca7265485/117-Icing-Research-Tunnel-NASA-Lewis-Research-Ce.aspx

In operation since 1944, the Icing Research Tunnel is the oldest and largest refrigerated icing wind tunnel in the world. Technology developed there enables aircraft to fly safely through icing clouds. Two firsts include the unique heat exchanger and the spray system that simulates a natural icing cloud of tiny droplets.

YearAdded:
1987
Image Credit: Courtesy NASAImage Caption: Cleveland Mayor, Frank G. Jackson, tours the Icing Research TunnelEra_date_from: 1944
Garfield Thomas Water Tunnel
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Research and DevelopmentEra: 1940-1949DateCreated: 1949Applied Research LaboratoryState CollegeState: PAZip: 16801Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/mechanical-power-production-water/-188-garfield-thomas-water-tunnel-%281949%29Creator: U.S. Navy

The Garfield Thomas Water Tunnel is a unique experimental facility for hydrodynamic research and testing. The 48-inch (1.2-meter) diameter water tunnel enables the research staff to conduct basic and applied investigations in the fields of cavitation, hydroacoustics, turbulence, transition, hydrodynamic drag, and hydraulic and subsonic turbomachinery. Instrumentation and testing methods have been developed to study noise, vibration, vehicle dynamics, and the interaction between the propulsor and vehicle body.

YearAdded:
1996
Image Credit: Courtesy WikiCommons/CyberXRef (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Caption: Entrance to the Garfield Thomas Water TunnelEra_date_from: 1949
Eiffel Drop Test Machine and Wind Tunnel
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Research and DevelopmentEra: 1900-1909DateCreated: 1903, 1912Auteuil LaboratoryParisZip: 75016Country: FranceWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/research-and-development/-237-eiffel-1903-drop-test-machine-and-1912-wind-tCreator: Eiffel, Gustave

Late in life, the renowned structural engineer Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923) embarked on aeronautical research. Reliable data and repeatable research methods were rare in the early 1900s, but Eiffel brought an engineer's discipline to the field. In the process, he produced the most accurate aeronautical data of the time, confirmed a long-held theory about fluid flow that had never been unequivocally proven, and established a laboratory that became a model for future practice.

YearAdded:
2005
Image Caption: Floor plan of Eiffel's 1912 laboratory at Auteuil, Paris, with two open-return wind tunnelsEra_date_from: 1903, 1912
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Research and DevelopmentEra: 1990-1999DateCreated: 1996DLP(r) Demo CenterPlanoState: TXZip: 75023Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/research-and-development/--243-digital-micromirror-device-%281996%29Creator: Hornbeck, Larry , Texas Instruments
The Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) was recognized as an ASME Mechanical Engineering Historic Landmark in 2008. Its development began in 1977 with the forming of a small team at Texas Instruments headed by noted physicist Larry Hornbeck. Texas Instruments was given a project from the Department of Defense to create a device that could modulate light.
YearAdded:
2008
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Adpowers (CC BY-SA 1.0)Image Caption: Picture of DLP chip used in a digital projector at the Cinerama in SeattleEra_date_from: 1996
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Research and DevelopmentEra: 1930-1939DateCreated: 1939Taylor Blvd
B
BethesdaState: MDZip: 20817Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/research-and-development/-197-david-taylor-model-basin-%281939%29Creator: Taylor, David
The David Taylor Model Basin is among the largest facilities of its kind in the world, containing a shallow water basin, a deep water basin and a high-speed basin. Using its sophisticated combination of towing carriages, wave makers, and measuring equipment, engineers are able to determine the sea-keeping qualities and propulsion characteristics of ship and craft models up to 40 feet in length. Since it became operational, the facility has provided key support in the development of naval architecture for the Navy, the Coast Guard, the Maritime Administration, and the maritime industry.
YearAdded:
1998
Image Credit: Public Domain (United States Navy)Image Caption: David Taylor Model BasinEra_date_from: 1939
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Garfield Thomas Water Tunnel

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Icing Research Tunnel, NASA Lewis Research Center

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McKinley Climatic Laboratory

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