YOUNG, ALEC DAVID

YOUNG, ALEC DAVID (1913–2005), British aeronautical engineer. Young was born in London and educated at the Central Foundation School before graduating in mathematics from Cambridge University (1935). After postgraduate research in aeronautics he joined the scientific staff of the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough (1936–46) followed by the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield (1946–54) where he was professor and head of the department of aerodynamics. Between 1954 and 1978 he was professor, head of the department of aeronautical engineering and vice principal (1966–78) of Queen Mary College, University of London, dean of the university faculty of engineering (1962–66), and from 1978 emeritus professor. His research interests included aircraft design, boundary layer problems, and innovative work on the design of ejector seats, parachutes, and jet engines. He made major contributions to elucidating the cause of the Comet crash (1954) and the Munich air disaster involving the Manchester United football team (1958). His many honors include the Order of the British Empire (1964), the Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal (1972), election to the Royal Society of London (1973), and the Roy Medal from the International Council for the Aeronautical Sciences (1994). He served as consultant to the Haifa Technion, with which he had strong ties. (Michael Denman (2nd ed.)