born Feb. 4, 1875, Freising, Ger.
died Aug. 15, 1953, Göttingen, W.Ger.
German physicist, considered the father of aerodynamics .
He taught at the University of Göttingen (1904–53). His 1904 discovery of the boundary layer at the surface of a body moving in air or water led to an understanding of skin friction drag and of the way streamlining (see streamline ) reduces the drag of airplane wings and other moving bodies. His work on wing theory explained the process of airflow over airplane wings.