In 1928, Caltech inaugurated its 10-ft wind tunnel, the very first in Southern California. It was inspired by Prandtl’s wind tunnel in Göttingen, built in 1909. Theodore von Kàrmàn, who had been Prandtl’s doctoral student, was appointed director of the Graduate Aeronautics Laboratory at Caltech (GALCIT) and contributed to its design. In 2017, a digital wind tunnel, developed in our laboratory, perpetuated the aeronautics leadership at Caltech. Caltech magazine honors 100 years of aerodynamics research, by placing side by side two revolutionary instruments, the 10-foot wind tunnel and our digital facility.

https://magazine.caltech.edu/post/caltech-evolution