Alec David Young

Alec David Young (15 August 1913 – 27 January 2005) was a British aeronautical engineer. Alec Young was the son of refugees from Russia who raised him in Shepley, West Yorkshire. He attended Central Foundation Boys' School for his secondary education. He first noticed his future wife Dora Caplan when they were both studying at a public library. In December 1931 he sat for examination at Cambridge University and was successful at winning an Exhibition to Gonville and Caius College. He was obliged to make an intense study of Latin for admission. Beyond his studies at Cambridge, Alec played tennis, swam, was cox of a boat, and courted Dora. After graduation he continued study with Melvill Jones who had written "The Streamline Aeroplane" for the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1929. Their study aimed to reduce parasitic drag of an aircraft. Alec published his findings with the Aeronautical Research Council. In 1936 he went to the Aerodynamics Department of the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, Hampshire. There he became a member of the Civil Service and was able to marry his sweetheart Dora. They were to have two sons, Robert and Johnathan. Minimization of drag was his focus, even measuring drag of rivet heads, lap joints, gaps and paint. He was able to give corrective instructions for the Hampden bomber and some trainers. In 1942 he began to work with a wind tunnel and William Hawthorne in development of jet engines. The work sought to determine high-speed flow characteristics in inlets, curved and straight ducts, and diffusers. He also worked with Sydney Goldstein of the National Physical Laboratory to extend the Prandtl-Glauert transformation from two to three dimensions. In July 1946 Alec became Senior Lecturer at the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield. One of Alec's collaborations there was with Abraham Robinson on 3D flows approaching the speed of sound. Another project attempted noise control of jet engines by modification of the efflux nozzle to improve