Howard C. Curtiss Jr. *65

Howard Curtiss, Princeton professor emeritus of mechanical and aerospace engineering and a pioneering researcher in helicopter aerodynamics, died Sept. 20, 2012, of bladder cancer. He was 82.

Curtiss graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1952. He was commissioned from the Naval ROTC, and served from 1952 to 1954. In 1957, he earned a Princeton master’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering, then a Ph.D. in 1965. He taught at Princeton for 33 years, retiring in 1998. Many of his students became professors, researchers, and leaders in government and the aerospace industry.

Known for his explanations of the complexities of helicopter forces and motions, he was a leading theorist and wrote pioneering studies on helicopter rotor-blade motion as well as influential work on control-system design.

For almost 30 years, he ran a unique test facility on the Forrestal Campus that functioned as a reverse wind tunnel for scale models of aircraft. A consultant to many aerospace firms, recently he designed a new helicopter rotor blade for the fleet used by the president and the British navy.

Curtiss was predeceased by his first wife, Betty Cloke, in 1985. He is survived by Betty Curtiss, his second wife; two children; three stepchildren; and seven grandchildren.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.