Bill Pickering (rocket scientist)
William H. Pickering | |
|---|---|
Pickering with a model of the Mariner 4 spacecraft, c. 1965 | |
| Born | William Hayward Pickering 24 December 1910 Wellington, New Zealand |
| Died | 15 March 2004 (aged 93) Flintridge, California, U.S. |
| Citizenship | New Zealand, United States |
| Known for | Space aeronautics pioneering |
| Awards | Magellanic Premium (1966) IEEE Edison Medal (1972) National Medal of Science (1975) Delmer S. Fahrney Medal (1976) Japan Prize (1994) Daniel Guggenheim Medal (2000) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| Thesis | A Geiger Counter Study of the Cosmic Radiations (1936) |
| Doctoral advisor | Robert A. Millikan |
William Hayward Pickering ONZ KBE (24 December 1910 – 15 March 2004) was a New Zealand-born aerospace engineer who headed Pasadena, California's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for 22 years, retiring in 1976. He was a senior NASA luminary and pioneered the exploration of space. Pickering was also a founding member of the United States National Academy of Engineering.