Scott Kjelgaard, 49, died April 16. Scott began his NASA career as a Co-Op student at Langley in the late 70's. He worked in the Subsonic Aerodynamics Branch and in the 14 x 22-ft wind tunnel where he conducted research in the aerodynamics of high-lift systems and the coupling of viscous boundary layer codes with the state-of-the-art panel codes of the time. He had a special gift for experimental research and enjoyed interfacing instrumentation and automating the gathering of research data.
Those skills were critical when in the early 80's, as a member of the newly formed Analytical Methods Branch; Scott helped put together the Langley's Basic Aerodynamics Research Tunnel (BART). It was one of the first facilities in the nation dedicated to computational fluid dynamic code validation and included a dedicated 3-component Laser Velocimeter. Scott was instrumental in getting the facility equipped, operational and automated. He also conducted some of the early pioneering work in leading edge vortex flows and vortex breakdown.
In the late 80's Scott became the Assistant Branch Head of the Experimental Methods Branch, and used his talents to improve the capabilities of numerous facilities in the branch. He served a short tour as the Assistant Branch Head in the Research Facilities Branch before he was lured from Government service to work as a management consultant. In the mid 90's Scott formed his own successful business where he was able to bring together his love of woodworking with interfacing numerically controlled machines.
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