Dean Roden Chapman facts for kids

Dean Roden Chapman (born March 8, 1922 – died October 4, 1995) was a very smart engineer who worked for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and later taught at Stanford University. He was known for his important work in understanding how liquids and gases move.

Biography of Dean Chapman

Dean Chapman went to the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) for his college degree. While he was there, he also played on the school's basketball team.

After finishing his studies, he started his career in 1948 at a place called the Ames Aeronautical Laboratory. This lab is now known as the Ames Research Center. At Ames, he became a leader in the field of Astronautics, which is the science of space travel.

In 1980, Dean Chapman left his job with the government to become a professor at Stanford University. He taught students about how things fly (aeronautics) and how machines work (mechanical engineering). He was a highly respected professor at Stanford until he passed away at the age of 73.

Chapman was famous around the world for his research into fluid dynamics. This is the study of how liquids and gases move. He was also a pioneer in something called computational fluid dynamics. This means he helped create new ways to use computers to understand and predict how fluids behave. He also did research on tektites, which are natural glass objects found on Earth, often thought to be formed from meteorite impacts.

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