Eugene E. Covert

{{Short description|American aeronautical engineer (1926–2015)}}

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| birth_date = {{birth date |1926|02|06}}

| birth_place = Rapid City, South Dakota

| death_date = {{death date and age |2015|01|15 |1926|02|06}}

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| fields = Aerodynamics
Aeronautics
Aeronautical Engineering

| workplaces = Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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| alma_mater = University of Minnesota
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

| thesis_title = On some fundamentals in magneto-fluid-mechanics

| thesis_url = http://library.mit.edu/item/000716949

| thesis_year = 1958

| doctoral_advisor = Morton Finston

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| known_for = Wind tunnel magnetic suspension systems
Rogers Commission

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| awards = Daniel Guggenheim Medal (2005)

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}}Eugene Edzards Covert{{cite web | title =Eugene Edzards Covert | work =Biographical Data Sheet | publisher =NASA Johnson Space Center | date =1998-08-12 | url =http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/oral_histories/CovertEE/EEC_BIO.pdf | accessdate =2009-01-12 }} (February 6, 1926 – January 15, 2015) was an aeronautics specialist born in Rapid City, South Dakota{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cpkiAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Covert,+Eugene+Edzards%22|title = American Men and Women of Science: The physical and biological sciences|year = 1982}}{{cite web | title =Appointment of 12 Members of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident, and Designation of the Chairman and Vice Chairman | work =Archives | publisher =Ronald Reagan Presidential Library | date =1986-02-03 | url =http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1986/20386c.htm | accessdate =2009-01-12 }} credited with the world's first practical wind tunnel magnetic suspension system, and was a member of the Rogers Commission. In the 1970s he was the chief scientist of the US Air Force and technical director of the European Office of Aerospace Research and Development.{{cite web | title =Covert to receive one of aviation's highest awards | work =News | publisher =Massachusetts Institute of Technology | date =2005-11-04 | url =http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2005/covert.html | accessdate =2009-01-12 }}

Education

Covert graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1946.

He received a Masters in Aeronautical Engineering in 1948.

In 1958, he received his doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.{{cite web | title =AEM alumnus honored with Outstanding Achievement Award | work =Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics - AEM Spotlight | publisher =University of Minnesota | date =2007-07-24 | url =http://www.aem.umn.edu/info/spotlight/covert410.shtml | accessdate =2009-01-12 }}

Honors

  • Exceptional Civilian Service Award from the United States Air Force (1973, 1976)
  • University Educator of the Year, Engineering Science Division, American Society of Aerospace Education, National Aeronautic Association (1980)
  • NASA Public Service Award (1981)
  • MIT Graduate Student Council Outstanding Teacher Aware (1985)
  • American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Ground Testing Aware (1990)
  • Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development von Karman Medal (1990)
  • American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics W. F. Durand Lectureship (1992){{cite web | title =EEC_BIO for Eugene Covert | publisher =NASA | url =http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/oral_histories/CovertEE/EEC_BIO.pdf| accessdate = 2009-01-20 }}
  • Daniel Guggenheim Medal for aviation (2005){{cite web |last=Litant |first=William T.G. |year=2006 |title=An appreciation: Gene Covert and the Guggenheim Meda; |url=http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/news/magazine/aeroastro-no3/2006covert.html |accessdate=2009-01-12 |work=Aero-Astro magazine |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology}}
  • Outstanding Achievement Award from the University of Minnesota (2007){{cite web | title =AEM alumnus honored with Outstanding Achievement Award | work =Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics - AEM Spotlight | publisher =University of Minnesota | date =2007-07-24 | url =http://www.aem.umn.edu/info/spotlight/covert410.shtml | accessdate =2009-01-12 }}

References

{{Reflist|30em}}