Robert Wellesley Mann

As design engineer in the 1950s conducted R & D on solid-propellant, turbo-alternator internal power systems for air-to-air missiles. Inaugurated the field of computer-aided design in the late ''50s-early ''60s. Pioneered rehabilitation engineering R & D including naturally-controlled artificial limbs and computer Braille translation and other aids. Last three decades focused on synovial joint biomechanics, including novel ultrasonic means for in situ in vitro cartilage geometry, permeability and modulus determination, explaining the high load capacity, low friction of the normal joint and deterioration in osteoarthritus, and the only in vivo measurements of human cartilage pressures.