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A South African-born engineer who played a key role
in the development of early American missiles and launch vehicles. Dunn earned
a B.S. (1936), two M.S.s - in mechanical engineering (1937) and aeronautical engineering
(1938) - and a Ph.D. (1940) from the California Institute of Technology, and then
joined the faculty there. He became assistant director of JPL
(Jet Propulsion Laboratory) in 1945 and then served as director (1947-54), presiding
over JPL’s early rocketry program which led to the development of the Sergeant
missile. Upon leaving JPL, he took charge of the Atlas
missile project for the recently-formed Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation. He remained
there through 1957 as associate director and then director and vice president
of the guided missile research division, before becoming executive vice president
and general manager, then president, and finally chairman of the firm’s Space
Technology Laboratories. From 1963 on, Dunn assumed various management positions
for Aerojet-General Corp. Besides the Atlas (built by General Dynamics), he played
a key role in developing the Thor (McDonnell Douglas),
Titan, and Minuteman missiles (Martin Marietta).
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