In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the advancement of science in the research and application of fluid lubrication.
Professor Dudley Dean Fuller has made many major contributions to engineering throughout the application of tribology. A particular feature of his work has been the development of a wide range of liquid and gas lubricated bearings, both self-acting and externally pressurised, which have had far reaching implications on the design of machines and instruments. Applications range across such devices as radio telescopes, dental drills, navigational gyroscopes, machine tools and spindles, high speed turbo machinery and ion beam analysers.
Much of the present day worldwide application of externally pressurised gas bearings and hydrostatic bearings may be regarded as primarily being due to the early work of Professor Fuller.
One most significant outcome of his work was in the field of control systems, which can provide infinite stiffness against all pre-determined design loads. These extremely valued features, which were initiated by Professor Fuller, became available at the same time as electronic equipment was developed to measure and, under suitable conditions, control the relative movement of mechanical elements to an accuracy of 0.02 micrometer (one millionth of an inch). It is now possible, due to the developments that have been made on Fuller’s original work, to move slides and rotating elements under design loads along pre-determined paths, to very near this high standard of such accuracy.
Professor Fuller was born on 8th February 1913. He obtained his BME degree at the City College of New York in 1941 and his MS degree at Columbia University, New York in 1953, a post he has since held with very great distinction.
In 1947, in a series of four papers on externally pressurised bearings, he used the descriptive phrase “Hydrostatic Bearing” for the first time in published literature. Thus began one of the first manifestations of his outstanding achievements in bridging the areas of theory, practice and teaching of engineering, with particular respect to tribological problems.
A significant portion of present gas bearing technology has resulted from the research conducted and guided by Professor Fuller at the Franklin Institute. Indeed, as a direct consequence of his research, an entirely new field of high speed turbo-machinery, utilising gas bearings, has come into existence and standard design procedures for hydrostatic step and pad type bearings have been evolved.
His work as a consulting engineer for about 40 of America’s most prominent companies including the Atomic Energy Commission, the Aluminium Company of America, E Dupont, General Electrics, IBM and many other world famous names, as well as that of principal engineer of the Franklin Institute Laboratories for Research and Development, has led to the wide scale adoption of many of the principles of hydrostatic bearings and later of compliant bearings, areas in which he is regarded as one of the world’s leading experts by these and many other companies.
His creative engineering ability and his talent for solving unique engineering problems are not only demonstrated by these consultancies, but also by his many publications, over 60 in number, the best known of which being his book on “The Theory and Practice of Lubrication for Engineers”, which has been translated into four languages and which documents many of his major original research projects.
Professor Fuller’s accomplishments in teaching mechanical engineering and, more specifically, lubrication have been no less significant than his research achievements. He aided in the development of the Lubrication Research Laboratory at Columbia University to its internationally acknowledged status and his courses on Fluid Film Lubrication are equally internationally recognised.
In addition, he has been a mentor for many students in whom he has stimulated the level of interest that has led to many outstanding accomplishments being added to those of his own. Thus, as engineer, scientist and leader, Professor Fuller has had a significant effect on present day technology.
Professor Fuller is a dynamic individual with a tremendous personality. He has been very active in promoting work for technical societies and cooperative industry government groups. He has received many honours including the National ASLE Award of 1957. He was selected to the honorary grade of Fellow of ASME in 1968 and in Washington in 1970 received a citation from the Chief Naval Research Department of the Navy on the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the Gas Lubricated Bearings Research Programme. In 1960 he was appointed an “Institute Fellow” of the Franklin Institute Research Laboratories. He received the Mayo D Hersey Award from ASME for “outstanding research contributions in fluid lubrication and for continuing professional efforts to educate others in the field over a period of 30 years” in 1971. Was appointed to a Chaired Professorship at Columbia University in July 1972, “Stevens Professor of Mechanical Engineering” and received the Great Teacher Award from the Society of Older Graduates at Columbia University in October 1977.
The work of Professor Fuller will play an important part on the tribology of engineering design for many decades to come. He is indeed one of the outstanding tribologists of our era.