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Helping to Create the Future of Space Travel

Dr. Lonnie Reid
Dr. Lonnie Reid had a long and storied career at NASA's Glenn Research Center. His expertise in the internal flow of advance aerospace propulsion systems was nationally recognized and he was influential in recruiting and mentoring the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Dr. Lonnie Reid had a long and storied career at NASA’s Glenn Research Center. His expertise in the internal flow of advance aerospace propulsion systems was nationally recognized and he was influential in recruiting and mentoring the next generation of scientists and engineers. This image of Dr. Reid was taken at Glenn in 1979.

After serving in the U.S. Army, he earned a mechanical engineering degree from Tennessee State University. He joined the NASA Lewis Research Center as a research engineer shortly after graduating in 1961 and spent the next 20 years as both a researcher and manager in the Compressor Section of the Fluid Systems Components Division.

Dr. Reid earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering. In 1989, he earned a doctorate from the University of Toledo, studying three-dimensional flows near the wall in transonic compressors. That same year, he was promoted to chief of the Internal Fluids Mechanics Division and appointed to the Senior Executive Service. He was the first African-American employee at the center to achieve either position. As division chief, he worked closely with industry to facilitate technology transfer, identify areas of turbomachinery and flow physics that required research, and ensure that the division addressed those concerns. He retired in October 1993 with 32 years of NASA service, and was inducted into the NASA Glenn Research Center Hall of Fame in 2016.

Learn more about Dr. Reid’s career.

Image Credit: NASA