Newsletter Archives; Fall 1996
IN MEMORIAM
Dr. Morris E. Childs, Professor Emeritus and Department Chair from 1973 to 1980, died on January 2, 1996. Professor Childs was 73.
Morris Childs was born March 30, 1923, in Yellville, Arkansas. He attended public schools in Oklahoma and began his post-secondary education at the Murray State School of Agriculture. He received his BSME degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1944. During World War II he obtained a commission as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy under the V-12 program. He was trained in naval ordnance and served in the Philippines during 1945-46. Following the war he entered the University of Illinois, which granted his MSME in 1947. He did research on heating and ventilation with Professor Seicho Konzo from 1947 to 1952, at which time he switched his specialization to gas dynamics, working with his mentor and Ph.D. thesis advisor Professor Helmut H. Korst and fellow graduate student and lifelong friend R. H. "Bob" Page.
In September 1954 he and fellow University of Illinois graduate student Paul Waibler both accepted faculty positions at the University of Washington. Professor Childs became the first member of the UW Mechanical Engineering Department faculty to hold a doctorate when the University of Illinois granted his Ph.D. in 1956.
During his 32-year career at the University, Professor Childs taught courses in thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, gas dynamics and boundary layer theory. He established a senior elective course in gas dynamics and was very active in developing the graduate program in the department, initiating four graduate courses in gas dynamics and boundary layer transfer. During his teaching career Dr. Childs supervised 48 masters theses and 14 Ph.D. dissertations.
Professor Childs conducted an active research program while at the University. His major projects included analytical and experimental research on turbulent mixing between streams and on the base pressure in supersonic and subsonic flows, supported by the National Science Foundation; analytical and experimental research on supersonic turbulent boundary layer flow (useful in the design of engine inlets for supersonic aircraft), supported by NASA; and experimental research on three-dimensional turbulent boundary layer flows in engine inlets on supersonic aircraft, funded by NASA. Many of the students who worked with him, such as Robert J. Dixon (BSME 1958, MSME 1960) and Gerald C. Paynter (Ph.D. 1965), went on to distinguished careers in research at Boeing and other aerospace firms. His son, Robert E. Childs, is employed by Nielson Engineering and Research Corporation and also conducts flow research.
In addition to his teaching and research, Dr. Childs served as Chair of the Department from 1973 until 1980. He maintained a full schedule of committee work and was active in a number of professional organizations, including the American Society of Engineering Education (Mechanical Engineering Division Chairman, 1978-79), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (UW Student Section Advisor, 1975-78), and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Professor Childs retired in 1986, but continued to teach, direct graduate students and conduct research for another two years. His primary interest in retirement was spending time with his family, and especially being a loving grandfather to his seven grandchildren, all of whom were born after his retirement from the University.
He is remembered as a dedicated teacher and mentor, an esteemed colleague, and an exceptionally honest, kind, and thoughtful individual.
