Eli Reshotko ME’50 graduated from The Cooper Union in 1950 and received a master’s of Mechanical Engineering in heat power engineering and machine design from Cornell University the following year. He joined the NASA Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in 1951 where he did research in aeronautical fluid dynamics. In 1957, Eli Reshotko was selected as one of only four scientists to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship for doctoral aeronautical research. He received a Ph.D. in aeronautics and physics from California Institute of Technology in 1960.
Dr. Eli Reshotko was the chief of the Plasma Physics Branch at NASA from 1961-1964. His team designed tools to apply aerodynamic concepts for supersonic aircraft and advanced propulsion systems. While working at NASA in the 1960’s, he and his staff studied the generation of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power, the creation of hot plasmas, and general plasma and fluids physics. The work advanced the state of the art in areas of MHD power generation, ion heating and nuclear reactor safety.
Dr. Eli Reshotko enjoyed a long career as a professor at Case Western University (CWRU) lasting from 1964 to 1999. Dr. Reshotko was the chair of the department of fluid thermal and aerospace sciences for six years and chair of the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering for three years. He was dean during 1987 and 1988.
Awards
Dr. Eli Reshotko was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1984, He is a Fellow of ASAA, ASME, APS, AAAS, and the American Academy of Mechanics. He is a recipient of the AIAA Fluid and Plasmadynamics Award (1980), the AIAA Dryden Lectureship (1994) and the APS Otto Laporte Award (1999).
Dr. Eli Reshotko was inducted into the NASA Hall of Fame in 2016 and he was designated an Aerospace Engineering Honorary Engineer of the Texas A&M University in 2017. Eli Reshotko was presented the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who’s Who in 2017. Dr. Eli Reshotko is the recipient of the 2020 CUAA Gano Dunn Award and will be inducted into The Cooper Union Hall of Fame during 2020.