Bruno Augenstein
Encyclopedia
Bruno Wilhelm Augenstein (March 16, 1923 – July 6, 2005) was a German
-born mathematician
and physicist
who made important contributions in space technology, ballistic missile
research, satellites, antimatter
, and many other areas.
), Germany in 1923. His father was a master machinist, and in 1927 moved the family first to Brooklyn, NY and later to Providence, RI to work for the Speidel Corporation. Bruno learned to speak English
from other children on the street, and taught his parents during the evenings.
A voracious reader as a child, he often read half a dozen library books each week while in grammar school on a wide variety of subjects, and especially liked adventure and science fiction. He became interested in physics and mathematics at an early age. A mathematics teacher recognized his abilities, and arranged for him to take graduate level classes at Brown University
when he was 14 or 15 years old. An accomplished athlete, he held the Rhode Island
state record for the discus throw in high school.
He took a Bachelor’s Degree in physics and mathematics from Brown University in 1943 (with a minor in English) and a Master’s in aeronautical engineering from the California Institute of Technology
(Caltech) in 1945. At Caltech he became interested in high speed aerodynamics
and rocket programs, and worked at the supersonic wind tunnel facility. He saw a lot of interest in furthering rocket programs at Caltech, with the ultimate intent of getting into space.
and took a job at North American Aviation
. There he worked at the Aerophysics Laboratory, and enjoyed its wide open environment and the encouragement to work together as a team and share ideas. His projects at North American included work on weaponization of the V-2 rocket
, a ramjet
-powered vehicle that later became the Navajo missile
, and helping to lay out hardware designs of satellite vehicles. At North American, he also began to have contact with scientists from the RAND Corporation, and discussed topics related to RAND’s early space studies and rocket and ramjet propulsion systems.
He left North American in 1948 to become a professor of aeronautics at Purdue University
. During that year, he decided that the confines of the academic environment were not for him, so he came back west where his formal entry into RAND was as a consultant and subcontractor
in 1949. His driving reason for joining RAND was their interest in carrying out satellite and space program work, and their reputation as a place where unconventional ideas could not only get listened to, but nurtured and developed.
He relished the unique organizational structure at RAND that allowed ideas to flow quickly and easily, and that strongly promoted the idea of inter-disciplinary work. There he could work on a broader spectrum of problems, such as the political and social problems of space flight, as well as those related to physics and hardware.
and strategic policy formation.
Along with many others at the time, he thought it would be catastrophic if the Soviets beat the US to development of an operational Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
(ICBM) system. In the early 1950s he felt that the ICBM program headed by Convair
had boxed themselves in by accepting very stringent requirements that were not really necessary. He headed a team that examined research on lighter, smaller warhead
s, re-entry speeds, mathematical models of bomb destruction, and other information from disparate sources. His analysis showed that by combining smaller missiles with lighter warheads and relaxing the accuracy requirements to just those needed to do the job, a US ICBM could be a reality by 1960 instead of the 1965 (or later) that Convair was aiming for. He laid out his analysis in the 1954 RAND memorandum “A Revised Development Program for Ballistic Missiles of Intercontinental Range.” This document outlined a program that would provide the United States with a new level of strategic power, and is widely regarded as the most important document of the missile age.
In 1958 he left RAND to join Lockheed Missiles and Space Corporation
, in anticipation that there was enough realism in the space program that important things were likely to happen there. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union had launched Sputnik 1
, the first man-made satellite to orbit the earth. This sent a shock wave through the American technological community, and spurred greatly accelerated interest in development of US satellite technology. At Lockheed, his work focused on development of techniques, testing and theory to fully exploit the capabilities of space systems and develop space age materials. He went on to become Lockheed’s chief scientist for satellite programs and director or planning at the Sunnyvale
facility. During that time, he and his Lockheed colleagues played the leading role in the development of CORONA
, the world’s first reconnaissance satellite launched in 1960.
(On a side note, Sputnik 1 was visible to the naked eye from earth, although the satellite body was only one meter in diameter. Augenstein speculated that the Russians had left the highly polished final launch stage attached to the satellite which is what made it visible, but this was discounted by most at the time. After the fall of the Berlin Wall
in 1989, examination of Soviet technical documents proved him to be correct.)
in Washington, D.C.
. At the DoD, he continued to be heavily involved in satellite, aircraft and space programs of various kinds, and was Assistant Director for Intelligence and Reconnaissance in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. One of his proudest moments at the DoD was signing the check that began production of the SR-71 Blackbird
spy plane. He was awarded the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award for intelligence work.
In 1965, he joined the Institute for Defense Analyses
in Washington, a non-profit corporation that assists the United States government in addressing important national security issues, particularly those requiring scientific and technical expertise. (His departure from the DoD was driven by his dislike for the way the Vietnam War
was being handled.) In 1967 he rejoined RAND in Santa Monica, California
as a Vice President and Senior Scientist, and worked on policy analysis in the national space programs.
, the US Department of Energy, Litton Industries
, TRW
, RAND and others. At Spectravision, he developed several reports for NASA on space data policy that studied space-based remote sensing
, space communication of earth information, and ground-based activities and facilities. In 1972, the US had launched the ERTS-1 earth remote sensing satellite (later renamed LANDSAT). In 1978 Augenstein wrote a report for NASA on LANDSAT policy issues to help them set a future direction for US earth remote sensing programs. A 1980 document reviewing Spectravision’s work outlined detailed research findings regarding international aspects, private sector roles, and system financing modes. Augenstein felt that questions of ownership of systems for acquiring and developing space-based information were crucial in setting the stage for continued, growing successes and use of space data. During his Spectravision years, he worked increasingly for RAND as a resident consultant, and he rejoined RAND full time in 1981.
In the 1980s he led RAND’s U.S. Air Force studies on antimatter
science and technology, and co-authored a book on antiproton
technology. In 1987 he spearheaded a conference to review the critical issues surrounding the establishment of a comprehensive U.S. antiproton research program and to help formulate its research goals. He later proposed a propulsion system for an antimatter rocket
(referred to by others as the "Augenstein mirror matter engine") that would have uses not only in space ships, but also on earth.
Augenstein also participated in a RAND study on the proposed National Aerospace Plane (NASP or Rockwell X-30
), a vehicle that could go into orbit as well as travel over intercontinental ranges at hypersonic speeds. The study concluded that "grave doubts exist that NASP could come anywhere near its stated/advertised cost, schedule, and payload fees to orbit," and the project was cancelled in 1993.
s. In 1993 RAND asked him to write a history of RAND’s Mathematics Department and some of its accomplishments, including game theory
, Monte Carlo method
s, dynamic programming
, and many other areas where RAND’s accomplishments led to innovations we take for granted today.
He served on many boards, including the National Library of Medicine, National Academy of Science and U.S. Dept. of Navy
Health and Medicine Review Committee, and the International Astronautical Federation
Committee on Interstellar Exploration.
In 2002, Augenstein wrote a paper arguing that the mathematical formulation of John von Neumann
’s quantum mechanics
– the authoritative mathematical embodiment of standard quantum mechanics – contains a logical contradiction, and is therefore logically inconsistent. He discussed the nature and consequences of logical inconsistency in the context of what physicists seem to intend when they use the terms “consistent” and “inconsistent.” He notes how rehabilitating von Neumann quantum mechanics, by avoiding the logical contradiction, gives variants of quantum mechanics which correlate numerous proposals, made by an articulate minority community of philosophers and physicists, for alternatives to the current theory.
man with a wide range of interests, including history, archeology, literature, classical music, languages, world travel, track and field, swimming and body surfing. A science fiction buff, he not only dreamed of but actively pursued the development of interstellar space travel and mankind’s exploration of the universe. (He even wrote some science fiction; one published example is the 1993 The Turing Test short story.)
He especially loved the timeless writing of William Shakespeare
and music of Johann Sebastian Bach
. Having once told a son that Shakespeare's writing was so good that it could be adapted to any subject, the son challenged him to relate the sport of surfing to Shakespeare. His resulting compilation of Shakespeare quotes (The Surfer) is really quite amazing. He held a joint patent on an automatic car parking machine in the 1950s, and developed an idea for a television series in the early 1960s called Project Omega that bore a startling resemblance to the later Mission Impossible TV series.
He served as a mentor to many up and coming scientists, and always encouraged them to do their homework and look at a problem from all sides with an open mind. He never really "retired" from the work he loved, and was still employed by RAND as an Emeritus Scholar during his last year. His family consisted of his sister, wife, daughter, two sons, daughter-in-law, and many dogs.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
who made important contributions in space technology, ballistic missile
Ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering one or more warheads to a predetermined target. The missile is only guided during the relatively brief initial powered phase of flight and its course is subsequently governed by the...
research, satellites, antimatter
Antimatter
In particle physics, antimatter is the extension of the concept of the antiparticle to matter, where antimatter is composed of antiparticles in the same way that normal matter is composed of particles...
, and many other areas.
Early life
He was born to Wilhelm Christopher and Emma Augenstein in Ellmendingen (part of KelternKeltern
Keltern is a town in the district of Enz in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
), Germany in 1923. His father was a master machinist, and in 1927 moved the family first to Brooklyn, NY and later to Providence, RI to work for the Speidel Corporation. Bruno learned to speak English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
from other children on the street, and taught his parents during the evenings.
A voracious reader as a child, he often read half a dozen library books each week while in grammar school on a wide variety of subjects, and especially liked adventure and science fiction. He became interested in physics and mathematics at an early age. A mathematics teacher recognized his abilities, and arranged for him to take graduate level classes at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
when he was 14 or 15 years old. An accomplished athlete, he held the Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
state record for the discus throw in high school.
He took a Bachelor’s Degree in physics and mathematics from Brown University in 1943 (with a minor in English) and a Master’s in aeronautical engineering from the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
(Caltech) in 1945. At Caltech he became interested in high speed aerodynamics
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...
and rocket programs, and worked at the supersonic wind tunnel facility. He saw a lot of interest in furthering rocket programs at Caltech, with the ultimate intent of getting into space.
Career
After a brief experiment with doctoral studies at Brown in 1946, he returned to CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and took a job at North American Aviation
North American Aviation
North American Aviation was a major US aerospace manufacturer, responsible for a number of historic aircraft, including the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, the X-15 rocket plane, and the XB-70, as well as Apollo Command and Service...
. There he worked at the Aerophysics Laboratory, and enjoyed its wide open environment and the encouragement to work together as a team and share ideas. His projects at North American included work on weaponization of the V-2 rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
, a ramjet
Ramjet
A ramjet, sometimes referred to as a stovepipe jet, or an athodyd, is a form of airbreathing jet engine using the engine's forward motion to compress incoming air, without a rotary compressor. Ramjets cannot produce thrust at zero airspeed and thus cannot move an aircraft from a standstill...
-powered vehicle that later became the Navajo missile
SM-64 Navaho
The North American SM-64 Navaho was a supersonic intercontinental cruise missile project built by North American Aviation. The program ran from 1946 to 1958 when it was cancelled in favor of intercontinental ballistic missiles...
, and helping to lay out hardware designs of satellite vehicles. At North American, he also began to have contact with scientists from the RAND Corporation, and discussed topics related to RAND’s early space studies and rocket and ramjet propulsion systems.
He left North American in 1948 to become a professor of aeronautics at Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
. During that year, he decided that the confines of the academic environment were not for him, so he came back west where his formal entry into RAND was as a consultant and subcontractor
Subcontractor
A subcontractor is an individual or in many cases a business that signs a contract to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract....
in 1949. His driving reason for joining RAND was their interest in carrying out satellite and space program work, and their reputation as a place where unconventional ideas could not only get listened to, but nurtured and developed.
He relished the unique organizational structure at RAND that allowed ideas to flow quickly and easily, and that strongly promoted the idea of inter-disciplinary work. There he could work on a broader spectrum of problems, such as the political and social problems of space flight, as well as those related to physics and hardware.
ICBM work
Initially at RAND he developed an interest in long range missiles because he saw that as an area with lots of political support (much more than satellites had at that time). He was interested in developing a missile response to what he perceived to be the Soviet threat, but also looked at missiles as a stepping stone toward building the essential tools needed for satellites to become a reality. At RAND he also developed additional interests in space and weapons systems, systems analysisSystems analysis
Systems analysis is the study of sets of interacting entities, including computer systems analysis. This field is closely related to requirements analysis or operations research...
and strategic policy formation.
Along with many others at the time, he thought it would be catastrophic if the Soviets beat the US to development of an operational Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
(ICBM) system. In the early 1950s he felt that the ICBM program headed by Convair
Convair
Convair was an American aircraft manufacturing company which later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Vultee Aircraft and Consolidated Aircraft, and went on to produce a number of pioneering aircraft, such as the Convair B-36 bomber, and the F-102...
had boxed themselves in by accepting very stringent requirements that were not really necessary. He headed a team that examined research on lighter, smaller warhead
Warhead
The term warhead refers to the explosive material and detonator that is delivered by a missile, rocket, or torpedo.- Etymology :During the early development of naval torpedoes, they could be equipped with an inert payload that was intended for use during training, test firing and exercises. This...
s, re-entry speeds, mathematical models of bomb destruction, and other information from disparate sources. His analysis showed that by combining smaller missiles with lighter warheads and relaxing the accuracy requirements to just those needed to do the job, a US ICBM could be a reality by 1960 instead of the 1965 (or later) that Convair was aiming for. He laid out his analysis in the 1954 RAND memorandum “A Revised Development Program for Ballistic Missiles of Intercontinental Range.” This document outlined a program that would provide the United States with a new level of strategic power, and is widely regarded as the most important document of the missile age.
Satellite development
In 1954 the formal beginnings of RAND’s satellite program also started, and he felt that the ICBM technology was a necessary precursor to realistic development of satellite programs. During the mid 1950s he participated in studies to determine the types of things that could be done with satellites, including reconnaissance and weather observation.In 1958 he left RAND to join Lockheed Missiles and Space Corporation
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
, in anticipation that there was enough realism in the space program that important things were likely to happen there. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union had launched Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1 ) was the first artificial satellite to be put into Earth's orbit. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. The unanticipated announcement of Sputnik 1s success precipitated the Sputnik crisis in the United States and ignited the Space...
, the first man-made satellite to orbit the earth. This sent a shock wave through the American technological community, and spurred greatly accelerated interest in development of US satellite technology. At Lockheed, his work focused on development of techniques, testing and theory to fully exploit the capabilities of space systems and develop space age materials. He went on to become Lockheed’s chief scientist for satellite programs and director or planning at the Sunnyvale
Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...
facility. During that time, he and his Lockheed colleagues played the leading role in the development of CORONA
Corona (satellite)
The Corona program was a series of American strategic reconnaissance satellites produced and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency Directorate of Science & Technology with substantial assistance from the U.S. Air Force...
, the world’s first reconnaissance satellite launched in 1960.
(On a side note, Sputnik 1 was visible to the naked eye from earth, although the satellite body was only one meter in diameter. Augenstein speculated that the Russians had left the highly polished final launch stage attached to the satellite which is what made it visible, but this was discounted by most at the time. After the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
in 1989, examination of Soviet technical documents proved him to be correct.)
Defense and Intelligence
In 1961 he left Lockheed to join the United States Department of DefenseUnited States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. At the DoD, he continued to be heavily involved in satellite, aircraft and space programs of various kinds, and was Assistant Director for Intelligence and Reconnaissance in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. One of his proudest moments at the DoD was signing the check that began production of the SR-71 Blackbird
SR-71 Blackbird
The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by the Lockheed Skunk Works. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the...
spy plane. He was awarded the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award for intelligence work.
In 1965, he joined the Institute for Defense Analyses
Institute for Defense Analyses
The Institute for Defense Analyses is a non-profit corporation that administers three federally funded research and development centers to assist the United States government in addressing important national security issues, particularly those requiring scientific and technical expertise...
in Washington, a non-profit corporation that assists the United States government in addressing important national security issues, particularly those requiring scientific and technical expertise. (His departure from the DoD was driven by his dislike for the way the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
was being handled.) In 1967 he rejoined RAND in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
as a Vice President and Senior Scientist, and worked on policy analysis in the national space programs.
Space technology and policies
In 1971 he departed RAND and co-founded Spectravision, Inc. with several colleagues to perform consulting work on space-related policy and technology issues, systems analysis, and other research areas. Spectravision's clients included NASANASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, the US Department of Energy, Litton Industries
Litton Industries
Named after inventor Charles Litton, Sr., Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States, bought by the Northrop Grumman Corporation in 2001.-History:...
, TRW
TRW
TRW Inc. was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, automotive, and credit reporting. It was a pioneer in multiple fields including electronic components, integrated circuits, computers, software and systems engineering. TRW built many spacecraft,...
, RAND and others. At Spectravision, he developed several reports for NASA on space data policy that studied space-based remote sensing
Remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon, without making physical contact with the object. In modern usage, the term generally refers to the use of aerial sensor technologies to detect and classify objects on Earth by means of propagated signals Remote sensing...
, space communication of earth information, and ground-based activities and facilities. In 1972, the US had launched the ERTS-1 earth remote sensing satellite (later renamed LANDSAT). In 1978 Augenstein wrote a report for NASA on LANDSAT policy issues to help them set a future direction for US earth remote sensing programs. A 1980 document reviewing Spectravision’s work outlined detailed research findings regarding international aspects, private sector roles, and system financing modes. Augenstein felt that questions of ownership of systems for acquiring and developing space-based information were crucial in setting the stage for continued, growing successes and use of space data. During his Spectravision years, he worked increasingly for RAND as a resident consultant, and he rejoined RAND full time in 1981.
In the 1980s he led RAND’s U.S. Air Force studies on antimatter
Antimatter
In particle physics, antimatter is the extension of the concept of the antiparticle to matter, where antimatter is composed of antiparticles in the same way that normal matter is composed of particles...
science and technology, and co-authored a book on antiproton
Antiproton
The antiproton is the antiparticle of the proton. Antiprotons are stable, but they are typically short-lived since any collision with a proton will cause both particles to be annihilated in a burst of energy....
technology. In 1987 he spearheaded a conference to review the critical issues surrounding the establishment of a comprehensive U.S. antiproton research program and to help formulate its research goals. He later proposed a propulsion system for an antimatter rocket
Antimatter rocket
An antimatter rocket is a proposed class of rockets that use antimatter as their power source. There are several designs that attempt to accomplish this goal...
(referred to by others as the "Augenstein mirror matter engine") that would have uses not only in space ships, but also on earth.
Augenstein also participated in a RAND study on the proposed National Aerospace Plane (NASP or Rockwell X-30
Rockwell X-30
-See also:-References: 2. -External links:*...
), a vehicle that could go into orbit as well as travel over intercontinental ranges at hypersonic speeds. The study concluded that "grave doubts exist that NASP could come anywhere near its stated/advertised cost, schedule, and payload fees to orbit," and the project was cancelled in 1993.
Other activities
In 1992 he initiated a DoD program for research on micro air vehicleMicro air vehicle
A micro air vehicle , or micro aerial vehicle , is a class of unmanned aerial vehicles that has a size restriction and may be autonomous. Modern craft can be as small as 15 centimetres...
s. In 1993 RAND asked him to write a history of RAND’s Mathematics Department and some of its accomplishments, including game theory
Game theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
, Monte Carlo method
Monte Carlo method
Monte Carlo methods are a class of computational algorithms that rely on repeated random sampling to compute their results. Monte Carlo methods are often used in computer simulations of physical and mathematical systems...
s, dynamic programming
Dynamic programming
In mathematics and computer science, dynamic programming is a method for solving complex problems by breaking them down into simpler subproblems. It is applicable to problems exhibiting the properties of overlapping subproblems which are only slightly smaller and optimal substructure...
, and many other areas where RAND’s accomplishments led to innovations we take for granted today.
He served on many boards, including the National Library of Medicine, National Academy of Science and U.S. Dept. of Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Health and Medicine Review Committee, and the International Astronautical Federation
International Astronautical Federation
International Astronautical Federation , the world's foremost space advocacy organisation, is based in Paris. It was founded in 1951 as a non-governmental organization. It has 206 members from 58 countries across the world. They are drawn from space agencies, industry, professional associations,...
Committee on Interstellar Exploration.
In 2002, Augenstein wrote a paper arguing that the mathematical formulation of John von Neumann
John von Neumann
John von Neumann was a Hungarian-American mathematician and polymath who made major contributions to a vast number of fields, including set theory, functional analysis, quantum mechanics, ergodic theory, geometry, fluid dynamics, economics and game theory, computer science, numerical analysis,...
’s quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
– the authoritative mathematical embodiment of standard quantum mechanics – contains a logical contradiction, and is therefore logically inconsistent. He discussed the nature and consequences of logical inconsistency in the context of what physicists seem to intend when they use the terms “consistent” and “inconsistent.” He notes how rehabilitating von Neumann quantum mechanics, by avoiding the logical contradiction, gives variants of quantum mechanics which correlate numerous proposals, made by an articulate minority community of philosophers and physicists, for alternatives to the current theory.
Personal notes
Bruno Augenstein was a true renaissanceRenaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
man with a wide range of interests, including history, archeology, literature, classical music, languages, world travel, track and field, swimming and body surfing. A science fiction buff, he not only dreamed of but actively pursued the development of interstellar space travel and mankind’s exploration of the universe. (He even wrote some science fiction; one published example is the 1993 The Turing Test short story.)
He especially loved the timeless writing of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
and music of Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
. Having once told a son that Shakespeare's writing was so good that it could be adapted to any subject, the son challenged him to relate the sport of surfing to Shakespeare. His resulting compilation of Shakespeare quotes (The Surfer) is really quite amazing. He held a joint patent on an automatic car parking machine in the 1950s, and developed an idea for a television series in the early 1960s called Project Omega that bore a startling resemblance to the later Mission Impossible TV series.
He served as a mentor to many up and coming scientists, and always encouraged them to do their homework and look at a problem from all sides with an open mind. He never really "retired" from the work he loved, and was still employed by RAND as an Emeritus Scholar during his last year. His family consisted of his sister, wife, daughter, two sons, daughter-in-law, and many dogs.
Other publications by Bruno Augenstein
- B.W. Augenstein, B.E. Bonner, F.E. Mills and M.M. Nieto, eds. "Antiproton Science and Technology." World Scientific Publishing, 1988. ISBN 9971-5-0587-8
- Augenstein B.W. "Links Between Physics and Set Theory" Chaos, Solitons and Fractals, Volume 7, Number 11, November 1996, pp. 1761-1798
- Augenstein B.W. "Hadron Physics and Transfinite Set Theory" International Journal of Theoretical Physics, Volume 25, Number 12, 1984
- Augenstein B.W., 1993. The Turing Test (science fiction short story)
RAND papers by Bruno Augenstein (and others)
- The simulation of combustion models in wind tunnels - 1948
- Shock wave interaction, or the velocity effect in H.E. rounds - 1952
- Scientific satellite-payload considerations - 1955
- Policy Analysis in the National Space Programs - 1969
- U.S. Technology--Decline or Rebirth? - 1972
- Relations Connecting the Dirac, Hamilton-Jacobi, and Gauge Equations - 1972
- Almost Painless Quantum Electrodynamics - 1974
- Energy choices and preference relation "paradoxes" - 1977
- An examination of alternative nuclear breeding methods - 1978
- The relativistic perihelion shift of an artificial planet, revisited - 1978
- When can cost-reducing R&D be justified--a simple explanatory model - 1979
- Bunched launch, bunched acquisition, and work-arounds: elements of alternative spacecraft acquisition policies - 1979
- Evolution of the U.S. military space program, 1945-1960: some key events in study, planning, and program development - 1982
- Improving the means for intergovernmental communications in crisis - 1984
- Concepts, problems, and opportunities for use of annihilation energy : an annotated briefing on near-term RDT&E to assess feasibility - 1985
- Some examples of propulsion applications using antimatter - 1985
- RAND Workshop on Antiproton Science and Technology, October 6-9, 1987 : annotated executive summary - 1988
- Space transportation systems, launch systems, and propulsion for the Space Exploration Initiative : results from Project Outreach - 1991
- The National Aerospace Plane (NASP): development issues for the follow-on vehicle : executive summary - 1993
- Priority-Setting and Strategic Sourcing in the Naval Research, Development, and Technology Infrastructure - 1995
- Naval research, development, and technology--deciding what to buy and how to buy it - 1995
- “Space” chapter in RAND’s “50th Anniversary of Project Air Force” publication - 1996
- Roles and impacts of RAND in the pre-Apollo space program of the United States - 1997
- Mert Davies: A RAND Pioneer in Earth Reconnaissance and Planetary Mapping from Spacecraft - 2004 (with Bruce C. MurrayBruce C. MurrayBruce C. Murray was born November 30, 1931 in New York, NY. He is a professor emeritus of planetary science and geology at Caltech and was Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from April 1, 1976 to June 30, 1982.He received his Ph.D...
); see Merton DaviesMerton DaviesMerton E. Davies graduated from Stanford University in 1937 and worked for the Douglas Aircraft corporation in the 1940s. He became a pioneer of spy satellite technology as a member of RAND Corporation after it split off from Douglas in 1948...