Occupation Aerospace engineer Died May 12, 2003 | Name John Diesel Children Eric Diesel | |
Born January 1929 Missouri, US Spouse(s) Dolores Diesel, Carol Sanches | ||
John Wallace Diesel (Jan 1929 – May 12, 2003) was an American aerospace engineer.
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Early life
Diesel was born in January, 1929. He received a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering in 1957, and his PhD in 1959, both from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Career
After graduating in 1959, Diesel worked in the Missile Dynamics Department of McDonnell Aircraft in St Louis. He then worked on guidance systems for Litton Industries, both as an employee and as a contractor, from 1961, continuing to work there when it was acquired by Northrop Grumman, in 2001, until his death in 2003.
Diesel held 12 patents in the fields of control engineering and inertial and GPS navigation and was published on these topics. In 1996, he received the Airline Avionics Institute Pioneer Award for his contribution to the field of air navigation.
Family
Diesel was married to Dolores; they divorced in 1970. They had two sons, Eric and Kurt. In 1971, John married Carol Sanches, and later adopted her daughter from a previous marriage, Lisa. From 1961 until his death, Diesel lived in Woodland Hills, California.