Robert H. Liebeck

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Robert H. Liebeck
OccupationAircraft engineer
Known forAircraft designs
Liebeck airfoils

Robert Hauschild Liebeck was an American aerodynamicist, [1] professor [2] and aerospace engineer. Until retiring from his position as senior fellow [3] at the Boeing Company [4] in 2020, [3] he oversaw their Blended Wing Body ("BWB") program. [5] [6] He was a member of the National Academy of Engineering since 1992, where he was an AIAA Honorary Fellow, the organization’s highest distinction. [4] [7] [8] He is best known for his contributions to aircraft design [7] and his pioneering airfoil designs known as the "Liebeck Airfoil". [9] After retirement he remained active in the aviation industry, most recently at the BWB startup JetZero where he served as a technical advisor [10] , and continued to teach aerospace courses at University of California, Irvine. Liebeck passed away on January 12, 2026.

Contents

A CAD rendering of the Liebeck airfoil. Liebeck-airfoil-render.png
A CAD rendering of the Liebeck airfoil.

Education

Liebeck pursued studies in aerospace engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1961, a Master of Science in 1962 and a PhD in 1968. [2] [11] [12] [13] It was while pursuing his PhD that he produced the first airfoil designs that would come to be known as the "Liebeck Airfoil". [4] [12] [13]

Career

Liebeck worked summers at the Douglas Aircraft Company, located in Santa Monica, California, [5] until he joined the permanent staff in 1968. [4] He remained with the company after its merger with McDonnell Douglas, which later merged with Boeing in 1997. [5] [14] He managed several of Boeing's airplane programs through which several advanced-concept aircraft were designed. [4] [12] [13] As Senior Technical Fellow of the Boeing Company, he served as program manager of the company's blended wing body program. [7] Liebeck was one of the first Senior Technical Advisors to the startup JetZero in Long Beach, CA, co-founded by one of Dr. Liebeck's early Blended Wing disciple, Mark Page.

Designs

Liebeck airfoils

Designs made by Liebeck during research for his doctoral thesis "Optimization of Airfoils for Maximum Lift", have been applied to the design of high-altitude aircraft. This class of airfoils has been used by NASCAR in its Car of Tomorrow which debuted in 2007. [4]

Boeing X-48 test model Edw-2006-X48-061028-01-8.jpg
Boeing X-48 test model

Blended wing body

Boeing has invested in a blended wing body airplane program since 1993, a program which Liebeck managed. [5] Run through Boeing's Phantom Works division, the program researched, designed and prototyped new aircraft designs which would reduce energy consumption and noise production. [11] [12] Initially funded by a grant from NASA of $90,000, the aircraft design moves away from the usual tube-and-wing design and instead has the wings blended into the body. [5] This design was developed by Liebeck, in conjunction with other members of the research team. [7] [11] Liebeck's team released a remote-driven model, the X-48, in 1997, flight tested a three-engine version, the X-48B, in 2008-9 [15] and a two-engine version, the X-48C in 2013. [16] [4] [7] [11] [13] [17]

The NASA X48C, the culmination of Liebeck's work on Blended Wing Body aircraft. Boeing X-48C in flight (ED13-0056-01).jpg
The NASA X48C, the culmination of Liebeck's work on Blended Wing Body aircraft.

Other designs

Liebeck's designs include propellers, wind turbines, wings for racing cars that have won the Indianapolis 500 and the Formula One World Championship, the wing for NASCAR's "Car of Tomorrow," the keel for the America³ yacht which won the 1992 America's Cup, and the wing for a World Championship aerobatic airplane [4] [7] [11] [12] [13]

Teaching career

Liebeck lectured in aerodynamics and aircraft design courses at several universities. [7] Since 1995 he was a Professor of the Practice of Aerodynamics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he lectured in aeronautics. [4] [11] [12] [13] . Liebeck was also an adjunct professor at the University of California, Irvine from 2000 to 2025, where he taught aerospace engineering courses. [4] [7] He was also an adjunct professor teaching aerodynamics, flight mechanics and airplane design at the University of Southern California from 1977 to 2000. [4] [11]

Awards and recognition

Liebeck was presented with the Brigadier General Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager International Aeronautical Achievement Award in 2012. [7] In 2011 Liebeck was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the College of Engineering at Illinois, an honor which "recognizes Illinois engineering alumni, and others affiliated with the college, who have made significant achievements in leadership, entrepreneurship, and innovation of great impact to society". [7] [11] That same year he was presented with "Engineering the Future" award from the Henry Samueli School of Engineering for his work in aeronautics and contributions to the school. [7]

Liebeck's awards and honors include:

Publications

References

  1. ↑ Garrison, Peter (August 2009). "Batplane". Air & Space magazine.
  2. 1 2 3 Litant, William (15 July 2010). "Liebeck to receive Guggenheim Medal". Mit News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Liebeck Retires from Boeing | The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine". engineering.uci.edu. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Sales, Bob (2006–2007). "Head of Boeing's Blended Wing Project blends passions for planes and teaching". Aero-Astro. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Pae, Peter (9 February 2001). "Boeing Developing Wing-Body Aircraft". Archived from the original on 4 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "Radical new design from Boeing". 12 February 2001. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Erik Wirtanen (1 March 2012). "Adjunct Professor Robert H. Liebeck Receives Brigadier General Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager International Aeronautical Achievement Award". Archived from the original on 9 February 2014.
  8. ↑ "Three AeroAstro faculty honored by AIAA". MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 18 December 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  9. ↑ Bold, Kathryn (26 June 2012). "No mere flight of fancy: Engineering professor working on experimental plane that could transform air travel".
  10. ↑ "Team & Partners". www.jetzero.aero. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rick Kubetz, ed. (14 September 2011). "Liebeck to Deliver Dean's Distinguished Leadership Lecture" . Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Robert H. Liebeck" (PDF). International Aeronautical Science and Engineering Workshop. Hong Kong, China. 24–27 May 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "MAE to host first Warren Geidt Memorial Lecture: Robert H. Liebeck, Boeing, October 28th". 8 October 2010. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014.
  14. ↑ "Boeing Chronology, 1997–2001". Boeing. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  15. ↑ Administrator, NASA (7 June 2013). "X-48B: Eighty Flights, Priceless Facts". NASA. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  16. ↑ Administrator, NASA Content (8 April 2015). "X-48 Project Completes Flight Research". NASA. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  17. ↑ Parsch, Andreas (24 November 2009). "Boeing X-48". designation-systems.net. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  18. 1 2 "2010 honorees and their innovations" (PDF). Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Robert H. Liebeck". scitech.aiaa.org. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018.
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