Ronald K. MacMaster Jr. ’43

Portrait
Image
Body

 

Ron served in the Army Air Force as a flight engineer and attained the rank of captain. This followed his time at Princeton, where he majored in mechanical engineering and was in Court Club. Ron continued his education at Rutgers University, where he earned an MBA in 1955.

Ron worked in the aerospace industry his entire life. He was a flight engineer, testing airplanes at Wright Field in Ohio, where he had the privilege of working with legendary pilot Chuck Yeager. He then began designing engines at Curtiss-Wright Corp. in New Jersey. Ron moved to California in 1961, where he worked on rockets for the Aerojet and Aerospace corporations. He ended his career at Marquardt Corp., where he assisted in the development and refinement of the space shuttle engines.

Ron died Aug. 20, 2013. He is survived by his wife, Joan; children Timothy, Emily, and Douglass; and seven grandchildren.

No responses yet

Join the conversation

Plain text

Full name and Princeton affiliation (if applicable) are required for all published comments. For more information, view our commenting policy. Responses are limited to 500 words for online and 250 words for print consideration.

Paw in print

Image
The cover of PAW’s November 2025 issue, featuring a photo of a space probe and the headline "Made in Princeton."
The Latest Issue

November 2025

NASA’s new IMAP mission, London’s big data detective, AI challenges in the classroom.