Kármán, Theodore von

kah® man] (1881–1963) Hungarian–US physicist: discovered Kármán vortices.

Von Kármán studied engineering at the Budapest Technical University and at the University of Göttingen. He subsequently became director of the Aachen Institute and of the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology; he was instrumental in setting up the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at CalTech and was a leading figure in a number of international scientific organizations. After 1930 he was largely in the USA.

An outstanding theoretical aerodynamicist, von Kármán discovered the two rows of vortices in the wake generated by fluid flow around a cylinder, known as Kármán vortices, and together forming a Kármán vortex street. Kármán vortices are important factors in aerodynamics, as they can create destructive vibrations. (The destruction by wind of the Tecoma Narrows Bridge in 1940 also had this cause.) His work, which included long-range ballistic missiles, aerofoil profiles, jet-assisted take-off and supersonic flight, was important in enabling the USA to become a world leader in the aerospace industry.