Ascher H. Shapiro

Who was Ascher H. Shapiro?

Ascher H. Shapiro was a professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. He grew up in New York City. He earned his S.B. in 1938 and an Sc.D. in 1946 in the field of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was appointed assistant professor at MIT in 1943 where he taught fluid mechanics. He was Ford Professor from 1962 to 1975 and an Institute Professor from 1975 until he became Emeritus Institute Professor in 1986.

He was Chair of the Institute's Faculty in 1964-1965 and head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering from 1965 to 1974.

A prolific author of texts in his field, his two-volume treatise, The Dynamics and Thermodynamics of Compressible Fluid Flow, published in 1953 and 1954, is considered a classic. His 1961 book Shape and Flow: The Fluid Dynamics of Drag explained boundary layer phenomena and drag in simple, non-mathematical terms. In the 1960s, he began to conduct research in fluid flow in the body.

In 1961, he founded the National Council for Fluid Mechanics Films, in cooperation with the Educational Development Center. The NCFMF released a series of 39 films, which have since then been widely used in the teaching of Fluid Mechanics.