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.
Research and Development
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
YearAdded:
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
2003
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:
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Jeff Keyser (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Stanford Linear Accelerator CenterEra_date_from: 1962
1984
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:
Image Credit: Public Domain (NASA)Image Caption: NASA Ames Unitary Plan Wind TunnelEra_date_from: 1956
1996
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:
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Bruce Irving (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: Mount Wilson Observatory, 100-inch Hooker TelescopeEra_date_from: 1918
1981
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:
Image Credit: Public Domain (United States Air Force)Image Caption: McKinley Climatic LaboratoryEra_date_from: 1944
1987
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:
Image Credit: Courtesy NASAImage Caption: Cleveland Mayor, Frank G. Jackson, tours the Icing Research TunnelEra_date_from: 1944
1987
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:
Image Credit: Courtesy WikiCommons/CyberXRef (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Caption: Entrance to the Garfield Thomas Water TunnelEra_date_from: 1949
1996
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:
Image Caption: Floor plan of Eiffel's 1912 laboratory at Auteuil, Paris, with two open-return wind tunnelsEra_date_from: 1903, 1912
2005
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:
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
2008
BBethesdaState: 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:
Image Credit: Public Domain (United States Navy)Image Caption: David Taylor Model BasinEra_date_from: 1939
1998
Innovations
This inertia dynamometer is used to test railroad wheels under controlled conditions that can greatly exceed normal service. It is the first and only…
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During the 1930's, research into advanced ballistic measurement techniques began at Aberdeen Proving Ground—the world's first large-scale, fully-instrumented ballistic range producing data on the aerodynamic characteristics of missiles in free flight.
Although this research had begun…
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The idea of constructing a rotating boom for
hydromechanical tests at the Alden Hydraulic Laboratory
originated with Professor Charles Metcalf Allen, head of
the lab from 1896 to 1950. The original boom was designed
in 1908 by Professor Allen, assisted by two Worcester
Polytechnic Institute… Read More
The Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine is used extensively throughout the world for testing, research, and instruction in the performance of fuels and lubricants for the internal combustion engine. Principal design work on this prototype engine was accomplished by engineers of Waukesha Motor…
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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-… Read More
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… Read More
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…
Read More
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,…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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… Read More
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…
Read More
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
The Stanford two-mile accelerator, the longest in the world,…
Read More
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…
Read More