Robert Dexter Conrad

Robert Dexter Conrad (born March 20, 1905 in Orange , Massachusetts , † July 26, 1949 ) was the founder of the basic research program of the US Navy and head of the planning department of the Office of Naval Research .

Life

Conrad graduated from the United States Naval Academy and was promoted to the rank of Ensign in June 1927 . After serving on the USS Florida , he studied at the Naval Academy in Annapolis and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . He completed his studies with a Master of Science degree in ship engineering in June 1932. During his subsequent tenure at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in New Hampshire , he was on leave in the fall of 1933 to study at the University of Cambridge in England .

After his return to the United States , he first served in the design and construction division and in the Research and Information Section of the Bureau of Construction and Repair , and then from August 1937 to June 1939 at the Experimental Model Basin in Washington, DC This was followed by the service in Mare Island and in November 1940 he was made assistant military attaché , later special naval observer at the American embassy in London . During the Second World War he returned to Washington, initially to the Bureau of Ships , where he was head of the Progress and Planning Section until May 1945.

His work this time was awarded the Legion of Merit . After the war he carried out his research, most recently as director in the Office of Naval Research , which conducts scientific research for the US Navy. His work was ultimately recognized with the Navy Distinguished Service Medal .

Appreciations

A US Navy research ship, the USNS Robert D. Conrad, was named after him. The Navy also awards a medal in his name, the Captain Robert Dexter Conrad Award, in recognition of outstanding service in naval research.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY - NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER. Retrieved March 3, 2013 .