| Charles E. Crede, was a
popular and respected expert on shock and vibration,
consultant to both government and industry, and a professor of mechanical engineering
and applied mechanics at Caltech from 1958 -1964. |
 |
| Professor Crede received
a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Institute of Technology in
1935 and an MS from Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in 1936 where he was a Tan Beta Pi Fellow.
Before going to work for the Navy Department in 1942, he
held a position for 6 years as Engineer with the Standard
Railway Equipment Manufacturing Company in Chicago, IL. |
|
He worked for the Navy Department's Bureau of Ships during
the early part of WWII on problems of protecting equipment
from severe shock. Later he organized and became the
first technical administrative head of the Shock and
Vibration Division of the Naval Research Laboratory. |
| In 1945, he
became Vice President and Chief Engineer of the Barry Wright
Corporation in
Watertown,
MA. His work there allowed him to become familiar with
isolators for both industrial and military applications
along with all principals involved with the development,
design, testing and applications of resilient mounting
systems. He
joined the Caltech staff in 1958 and rapidly assumed an
active role in all aspects of Institute life. |
 |
He was a much-sought-after
engineering consultant for many governmental and industrial
activities, being a key figure in Air Force design studies
for underground missile launching sites and for NASA
investigations of shock and vibration problems in rockets. |
| Professor Crede was a
Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and
of the Acoustical Society of America, and a member of
numerous other societies. He was a national vice president
of the ASME, and in 1959 received the first ASME Machine
Design Award for eminent achievement in shock and vibration
technology. In 1957 he gave the annual invited Murray
Lecture to the Society for Experimental Stress Analysis. He
played an important role in the activities of the American
Standards Association as chairman of numerous committees. |
| As the author of many
technical papers he had a wide influence on all aspects of
shock and vibration technology. His book Vibration and
Shock Isolation (left) has been, since it appeared in 1951, the
international standard reference in the field. In 1961 he
was co-editor with Professor C. M. Harris of Columbia
University of a three-volume Shock and Vibration Handbook
(since published as a single volume)
which stands as the main authoritative source of
information for the field. |
| Shock Tech extends many thanks
to Professor Crede's son Donald and daughters Barbara and
Eileen who graciously gave their permission to use and reference
Professor Crede's published works in the engineering area of
this site. Appreciation is also given to the Caltech
Archives for use of Professor Crede's official Caltech
photograph and references to his time at Caltech. |
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