Howard Arnold, a nuclear physicist who worked in the United States power industry, died of a stroke July 16, 2015, at age 84.
Born in 1931, he studied chemistry and chemical engineering at Cornell, and in 1955, was awarded a Ph.D. in physics from Princeton. Arnold was then employed by Westinghouse Electric in Pittsburgh in the new field of nuclear engineering.
At Westinghouse, he wrote computer software for the analysis and control of neutron diffusion in a nuclear reactor. Westinghouse also assigned him to design NERVA, the nuclear rocket engine meant to take humans to Mars. In the late 1960s, he was in charge of developing the Mark 48 torpedo, a main weapon for United States submarines.
In later decades, Arnold worked on peacetime power uses. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, joined by his daughter, Frances ’79, the only father and daughter in the academy. In his 80s, Arnold continued to work as a presidential appointee to the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
He is survived by Josephine, whom he married in Princeton in 1952; five children; and 10 grandchildren.
Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.