ShastaJfh707289: Put up new bio initial version

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Put up new bio initial version

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{{Infobox person
|name= G.V.R.Rao (Gadicharla V R Rao)
|birth_date= 24 June 1918
|birth_place= [[Rajahmundry]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[India]]
|death_date={{death date and age|df=yes|2005|5|27|1918|06|24}}
|death_place= [[Thousand Oaks, California]], USA
|known_for= [[Bell nozzle]], also commonly called the Rao Nozzle<ref name="Nozzles - GA tech" />
}}

'''Gadicharla V.R. Rao (G. V. R. Rao)''', D.Sc. (June 24, 1918- May 27, 2005) was an Indian [[aerospace engineering|aerospace engineer]] who worked in the jet engine and rocket propulsion fields.<ref name="Rao Recent Developments" /> Rao worked for General Electric in their Gas Turbine Division department and was a research scientist at [[Marquardt Corporation|Marquardt Aircraft]], before working for [[Rocketdyne]],<ref name="Rao Recent Developments" /> where he designed the [[bell nozzle|optimum thrust nozzle]]. Often referred to as the "Rao's nozzle", it is part of the standard design for rocket engines.<ref name="Obituary" /> The Rao Nozzle is used currently in rocket, missile, and satellite control systems worldwide. It is taught in universities that offer Aerospace Engineering, including [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT),<ref name="Nozzles - MIT" /> [[California Institute of Technology ]] (Caltech),<ref name="Nozzles - Caltech" /> and [[Georgia Institute of Technology]].<ref name="Nozzles - GA tech" />

During his career, he also worked on aerodynamic and fluid dynamic design projects, such as chemical lasers, the space shuttle main engines<ref name="Obituary" /><ref name="NASA" /><ref name="Pelaccio, Rao, et. al" /> scramjet and aerospike rocket engines, and wind-powered generators.<ref name="Obituary" />

==Personal life and education ==
On June 24, 1918, Rao was born in [[Rajahmundry]]<ref name="Rao Recent Developments" /><ref name="Obituary" /><ref name="Who's who" /> in the [[Andhra Pradesh]] province of southeastern India. His father was a school headmaster. Rao was born into a large [[Brahmin]] household,<ref name="Obituary" /> and is related to [[Gadicherla Harisarvottama Rao]], a well-known freedom fighter for India's independence.

Rao attended Madras Engineering College, and then came to the United States, where he received his D.Sc. in Aeronautical Engineering from [[New York University]] in 1949.<ref name="Rao Recent Developments" />

He met and married Mary Fabrizio in New York, and they subsequently moved to [[Bangalore]], India.<ref name="Obituary" /><ref name="Who's who" /> Rao and Mary returned to America after their first son, Raman was born. Rao then worked at General Electric. Their second son, Krishna was born, and the family subsequently moved to [[Woodland Hills, California]].<ref name="Obituary" /> In 1976, the Raos moved to [[Thousand Oaks, California|Thousand Oaks]]. Rao died at the age of 86 on May 27, 2005.<ref name="Obituary" />

==Career==
[[File: Nozzles of Saturn-V.JPG |thumb|right|Nozzles of Saturn-V]]
[[File: Common_Extensible_Cryogenic_Engine.jpg|thumb|Nozzle of an extensible Cryogenic Engine]]

===Educator===
After receiving his D.Sc., Rao taught in [[Bangalore]], India at the Graduate Research Institute.<ref name="Obituary" />

===Aerospace engineer===

From 1952 to 1955, Rao worked for General Electric in their Gas Turbine Division. He was then a research scientist
at [[Marquardt Corporation|Marquardt Aircraft]] until 1958. Rao then worked for [[Rocketdyne]] in California as a design analyst.<ref name="Rao Recent Developments" /><ref name="Missiles and Rockets" />

Beginning in the mid-1950s, Rao began to use mainframe computers at [[Rocketdyne]] to make computations for the design of rocket nozzles. Kramer and Wheelock state, "Rao developed a method for determining the nozzle contour that would produce the maximum thrust for any given nozzle area ratio and length... The optimum turned out to be not only more efficient but also considerably shorter by about 60% than a 15-degree conical nozzle of the same area."<ref name="KraemerWheelock2006" /> George P. Sutton, who worked with Rao at Rocketdyne, said that "bell shape or curved exit contour is used almost universally today for nozzles designed since about 1960 for large as well as small thrust chamber nozzles" and for both solid and liquid propellants.<ref name="Sutton 2006" /> In 1963, the Advanced Propulsion Section of NASA published ''Computation of Plug Nozzle Contours by the Rao Optimum Thrust Method'' about a study that was performed to design a [[plug nozzle]] using Rao's maximum thrust theory using a [[Fortran|FORTRAN computer program]].<ref name="NASA 1963" /> In 1983, Rao's design was modified, with a slightly different contour, to maximize performance.<ref name="Tuttle" />

In 1961, Rao worked at National Engineering Science Company as associate director.<ref name="Rao Recent Developments" /> By 1970, he formed his own company, G. V. R. Rao and Associates, through which he contracted with NASA.<ref name="NASA 1970" /> He worked at [[Rockwell International]] for [[Marshall Space Flight Center]] in 1988.<ref name="Tech Notes" /> During his career, he also worked on aerodynamic and fluid dynamic design projects, such as chemical lasers, the space shuttle main engines<ref name="Obituary" /><ref name="NASA" /><ref name="Pelaccio, Rao, et. al" /> scramjet and aerospike rocket engines, and wind-powered generators.<ref name="Obituary" />

His patented inventions include Device for thrust spoiling and thrust reversal (1957),<ref name="Patent 1957" /> Quiet fan with non-radial elements (1975),<ref name="Patent 1975" /> Shock wave suppressing flow plate for pulsed lasers (1984),<ref name="Patent 1984" /><ref name="Patent 1984/1990" /> and Mixing aids for supersonic flows (1990).<ref name="Patent 1984/1990" /><ref name="Patent 1990" />

==Publications==

* {{ cite journal | author=Rao, G. V. R. | title=Exhaust Nozzle Contour for Optimum Thrust |journal=Journal of Jet Propulsion | volume=28 | number=6 |date=June 1958|pages= 377–382 | doi=10.2514/8.7324 }}
* {{ citation | author=Rao, G. V. R. | title= Contoured Rocket Nozzles. Paper presented at Ninth Annual Cong. Int. Astronautical Federation (Amsterdam) | date= August 1958 }}
* {{ Cite book | author=Rao, G. V. R. | title=Liquid Rockets and Propellants | pages=669–682 | chapter=Analysis of a New Concept Rocket Nozzle |date=May 1960 |publisher=American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics| doi=10.2514/5.9781600864759.0669.0682 | isbn=978-1-56347-851-2 }}
* {{ cite journal | author=Rao, G. V. R. | title=Approximation of Optimum Thrust Nozzle Contour | journal=ARS Journal | volume= 30 | number=6 | date=June 1960 | page= 561 }}
* {{ cite book | author=Rao, G. V. R. | chapter=Nozzle Contours | title=Handbook of Astronautical Engineering | publisher= McGraw-Hill | location= New York | year=1961 | quote= Chapter 20.33 }}
* {{cite book|last=Rao|first=G. V. R.|title=Study of Non-radial Stators for Noise Reduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iqRH3IDWYBAC|year=1971|publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="KraemerWheelock2006">{{cite book|last1=Kraemer|first1=Robert S.|last2=Wheelock|first2=Vince|title=Rocketdyne: Powering Humans Into Space|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7m7Uq-B6RbYC&pg=PA83|year=2006|publisher=AIAA|isbn=978-1-56347-754-6|page=83}}</ref>

<ref name="Missiles and Rockets">{{cite book|title=Missiles and Rockets|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ct8iAQAAMAAJ|date=January 1958|publisher=American Aviation Publications|page=175}}</ref>

<ref name="Obituary">{{cite news | title=Gadicherla V R Rao | newspaper=Ventura Star Newspaper | date=May 28, 2005 | quote=It was posted soon after his death, the exact date is unclear | url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Gadicheria_V_R_Rao-obituary_published_in_Ventura_County_Star_Paper-around-may-27-2005_01.jpg | accessdate=November 27, 2016 }}</ref>

<ref name="NASA">{{cite journal | title=Flow Induced Vibration in SSME Injection heads | publisher=Rocketdyne Division, Rockwell International | date= June 1991 | url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19910021900.pdf | accessdate=November 27, 2016 | via=NASA | last1=Lepore | first1=Frank A. }}</ref>

<ref name="NASA 1963">{{cite web | title=Computation of Plug Nozzle Contours by the Rao Optimum Thrust Method. NASA Technical Document | date=July 1, 1963 | url=https://archive.org/details/nasa_techdoc_19630012034 | accessdate=November 27, 2016 }}</ref>

<ref name="NASA 1970">{{cite book|title=NASA Tech Brief|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XzI8AAAAMAAJ&q="G.+V.+R.+"+OR+"G.V.R."+Rao|year=1970|publisher=NASA}}</ref>

<ref name="Nozzles - Caltech">{{cite web | url=http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~srk/ay125/Nozzle |title=Nozzles | website=Caltech | author=S. R. Kulkarni | page=8 | accessdate=November 27, 2016 }}</ref>

<ref name="Nozzles - GA tech">{{cite web | url=http://soliton.ae.gatech.edu/people/jseitzma/classes/ae6450/bell_nozzle.pdf | title=Bell/Contoured Nozzles | website=GA Tech | accessdate=November 27, 2016 | archive-date=July 26, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726093303/http://soliton.ae.gatech.edu/people/jseitzma/classes/ae6450/bell_nozzle.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="Nozzles - MIT">{{cite web | title=Types of Nozzles; Connection of flow to nozzle shape. MIT OpenCourseWare: Lecture 8 | url=http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/aeronautics-and-astronautics/16-50-introduction-to-propulsion-systems-spring-2012/lecture-notes/MIT16_50S12_lec8.pdf | website=MIT | accessdate= July 30, 2016 | page=6 }}</ref>

<ref name="Patent 1957">{{cite web | title=Device for thrust spoiling and thrust reversal - US Patent 2,791,088 A |date= May 7, 1957 | url=http://www.archpatent.com/patents/2791088 | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20140811010248/http://www.archpatent.com/patents/2791088 | archivedate=August 11, 2014 }}</ref>

<ref name="Patent 1975">{{cite web | title=Quiet fan with non-radial elements - United States Patent: 3,883,264 | date=May 13, 1975 | url=http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=3883264.PN.&OS=PN/3883264&RS=PN/3883264 | publisher=United States Patent and Trademark Office | accessdate=November 27, 2016 | archive-date=February 7, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207162753/http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=3883264.PN.&OS=PN/3883264&RS=PN/3883264 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="Patent 1984">{{cite web | title=Shock wave suppressing flow plate for pulsed laser - US patent: 4,457,000 | date=June 1984 | url=http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=4457000.PN.&OS=PN/4457000&RS=PN/4457000 | publisher=United States Patent and Trademark Office | accessdate=November 27, 2016 | archive-date=February 7, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207174331/http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=4457000.PN.&OS=PN/4457000&RS=PN/4457000 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="Patent 1984/1990">{{ cite web | url=http://patents.justia.com/inventor/gadicherla-v-r-rao | title=Patents by Inventor Gadicherla V. R. Rao | website=Justia | accessdate=November 27, 2016 }}</ref>

<ref name="Patent 1990">{{cite web |title=Mixing aids for supersonic flows - United States Patent 4,899,772 |date=February 13, 1990 |url=http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=4899772.PN.&OS=PN/4899772&RS=PN/4899772 |publisher=United States Patent and Trademark Office |accessdate=November 27, 2016 |archive-date=February 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207174326/http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=4899772.PN.&OS=PN/4899772&RS=PN/4899772 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="Pelaccio, Rao, et. al">{{citation | author1=D.G. Pelaccio | author2=F.F. Lepore | author3=G.M. O'Connor | author4= G.V.R. Rao | author5=G.H. Ratekin |author6= S.T. Vogt | url=https://archive.org/details/nasa_techdoc_19850018587| title=Experimental Evaluation of an Advanced Space Shuttle Main Engine Hot Gas Manifold Design Concept | publisher=American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) |number=84–1463 | date=June 1984 }}</ref>

<ref name="Rao Recent Developments">{{cite journal | url=https://webfiles.uci.edu/dbeerer/aerospike/RaoRecentDevinRockNozConfig.pdf | title=Recent Developments in Rocket Nozzle Configurations | author=G. V. R. RAO | journal=ARS Journal | date=November 1961 | volume=31 | issue=11 | pages=1488–1494 | doi=10.2514/8.5837 | accessdate=November 27, 2016 | archive-date=August 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828144141/https://webfiles.uci.edu/dbeerer/aerospike/RaoRecentDevinRockNozConfig.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="Sutton 2006">{{cite book|last=Sutton|first=George Paul|title=History of Liquid Propellant Rocket Engines|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s1C9Oo2I4VYC|year=2006|publisher=AIAA|isbn=978-1-56347-649-5|page=92}}</ref>

<ref name="Tech Notes">{{cite book|title=Tech Notes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZuhZpdTJg5MC|year=1988|publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce, National Technical Information Service, Center for the Utilization of Federal Technology|page=26}}</ref>

<ref name="Tuttle">{{ Cite journal | author1=J. L, Tuttle | author2=D. H. Blount | title=Perfect Bell Nozzle Parametric and Optimization Curves - NASA Reference Publication 1104 | url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19830016278.pdf | publisher= NASA | date=May 1983 |accessdate= July 30, 2016 | pages=7–8 }}</ref>

<ref name="Who's who">{{cite book|title=Who's who in World Aviation and Astronautics|year=1958|publisher=American Aviation Publications, Inc.|page=362}}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Huzel|first=Dieter K.|title=Modern Engineering for Design of Liquid-Propellant Rocket Engines|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TKdIbLX51NQC&pg=PA76|year=1992|publisher=AIAA|isbn=978-1-60086-400-1|page=76}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, G. V. R.}}
[[Category:American aerospace engineers]]
[[Category:Engineers from Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:1918 births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:Rocketdyne]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian inventors]]
[[Category:People from Rajahmundry]]
[[Category:Indian aerospace engineers]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:American people of Telugu descent]]
[[Category:20th-century American engineers]]
[[Category:20th-century American inventors]]

G. V. R. Rao - Revision history

ShastaJfh707289: Put up new bio initial version