International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow 30 (2009) 391–392

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International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flowjournal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhff

Dedication: Professor Frank W. Schmidt

This special issue of the IJHFF is dedicated to our friend and colleague Frank W. Schmidt to mark both his 80th Anniversary on
March 31st, 2008 and to celebrate his contributions as an editor
to the IJHFF for more than a quarter century.
Frank was awarded his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin in 1950 before moving
to the Pennsylvania State University where he obtained his master’sdegree. After two years working as a design engineer and two years’
military service, he re-joined the University of Wisconsin as aninstructor to obtain his doctorate and stayed on as an assistant professor. In 1962, however, he was hired by the Pennsylvania State
University and that was to remain his university base for theremainder of his career.

doi:10.1016/j.ijheatﬂuidﬂow.2009.01.003

His research contributions have covered a wide range ofsubjects in heat transfer ranging from applications such as heat-exchanger design, thermal energy storage, refrigeration and processengineering for foodstuffs through to more fundamental studies
on numerical strategies for convective heat transfer and the studyof natural convection, both numerically and by experiment.
Frank sees the sabbatical year that he spent at Imperial College, London in 1965–1966 working in Brian Spalding’s groupas one of the main markers in his professional life. He mademany friends in that period that have remained close to him eversince. Although turbulent ﬂow research had not been his personalresearch emphasis, when he later learned that two of his Imperial
College colleagues wanted to hold a research conference on thattheme he immediately suggested that it should be held at Penn
State. He handled all the administrative and fund-raising activities for the event which was so successful that he was persuaded
to become the organizing secretary for ten further biennial Turbulent Shear Flows symposia. Indeed, when he decided in 1997
that he needed to step down from that position in order to create
space for other professional commitments, the remainder of theorganizing committee decided that they too should resign andthe conference series cease (though re-born under different
leadership in the current Turbulence & Shear Flow Phenomena
series).
His invitation to become an editor-in-chief of the IJHFF also
sprang from his Imperial College connections. In 1983 the then editors-in-chief and publishers decided that if the journal was toacquire a truly international standing it needed to have a US editor.
Bernard Martin, one of the editors-in-chief, had got to know Frankduring his sabbatical leave and the latter’s complementary research interests allied to the extensive reputation Frank had bythen acquired as being an exceptionally ‘safe pair of hands’ madehim an obvious choice. During his tenure the Journal grew considerably in stature, progressed from quarterly to bi-monthly publication and began the practice of publishing special issues whose
contents were drawn from those presented at leading internationalconferences. In 2006 he chose to step down from his position as
editor-in-chief but was persuaded to remain as editor-at-large inwhich role he has organized several special issues, including thepresent one.

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Dedication / International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow 30 (2009) 391–392

many roles on behalf of the ASME’s Heat Transfer Division, culminating in his serving as chairman of the Division in 1978–1979. In
the 1980’s his ASME roles widened with a special area of responsibility being the huge Winter Annual Meeting. From 1986 until
2007 he was co-editor of the Heat Exchanger Design Handbook
while from 1987 he has served in various roles for the Engineering
Foundation and its successor, the Engineering Conferences International, being chosen as president of the latter’s board of directors
in 2003. Indeed, through this latter institution he has helped
stimulate research in many countries in Asia, Africa and SouthAmerica.
No summary of Frank’s contributions would be complete without mention of his wife and companion for more than ﬁfty years,
Mary (née Cherney). They ﬁrst met soon after Frank started his
master’s programme at Penn State where Mary was an undergraduate, became engaged in the summer of 1952 and tied the knot
two years later. Throughout Frank’s career Mary has provided
invaluable support to his professional activities. They had four children who have each gone on to successful careers and Frank andMary are now enjoying the blessing of helping their nine grandchildren on their journeys through childhood and adolescence toadulthood. We wish them many more happy years together, sharing their joy of living and good humour with their countless friendsaround the world!
Tom Gatski
Nobuhide Kasagi
Brian Launder
Editors-in-Chief
While the IJHFF has been fortunate to beneﬁt from Frank’s professional guidance, it was by no means the only organization towhich he contributed. Throughout the Seventies he worked in

Available online 14 February 2009