About the author Francis J. Hale is a Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State University, Raleigh. He received his BS from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, his SM in controls and instrumentation, and ScD in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology He is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, a member of the Order of Daedalians, and holds memberships in many other professional and honor societies. Before joining North Carolina State University in 1965, Professor Hale had