from ASME National News
Dr. Mikio “Mike” Suo, whose contributions to jet engine
design earned him national recognition, died May 5, 2002, of cancer. He was
67.
Dr. Suo was Manager of Heat Transfer and Fluid Systems Design at
GE Aircraft Engines before retiring in 1996. He coordinated the efforts of more
than 100 engineers in Cincinnati OH and Lynn MA.
As much as his
technical and managerial accomplishments, family, friends and colleagues
remember his thoughtful, compassionate nature, his wide-ranging interests and
his natural curiosity about the world.
The son of Japanese immigrants,
Dr. Suo was born 26 Feb 1935 on a farm near Fresno CA. During World War II, the
family was interned at the Jerome AR and Gila River AZ relocation centers. They
returned to California after the war.
Dr. Suo spent much of his youth
working in the dusty vineyards, but he also showed an early fascination with
moving parts. He applied an oil squirt can to his tricycle; he crafted
gliders from balsa. A high school Latin teacher encouraged him to apply
to the University of California at Berkeley. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa
and summa cum laude in 1956.
After serving in Europe as an officer in
the U.S. Army, he pursued his master of science and doctorate in mechanical
engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge MA, where
he also met his wife, Harriet Nicholson Suo. The assistant to his faculty
advisor, Mrs. Suo recalls being drawn to Dr. Suo’s self-assuredness, warm
smile and good looks. They married in 1962.
Initially undecided
between a career in academia or industry, Dr. Suo taught at MIT for 3 years
before being hired by Pratt and Whitney Aircraft in East Hartford CT in 1966.
He worked there and at United Technologies Research Center before moving to GE
Aircraft Engines in 1981. Along the way, he built an international reputation
in the field of turbine aerodynamics and heat transfer.
The
high-temperature gases that power jet engines tend to melt the metal turbine
blades inside unless the blades are properly cooled. Dr. Suo was instrumental
in improving the systems that cool the turbines. On aircraft ranging from the
Boeing 747 to the Joint Strike Fighter, such improvements made the engines more
powerful and more durable, and they prompted interest in other uses of gas
turbines such as ship propulsion and ground power generation.
One of
Dr. Suo’s chief accomplishments was to direct the creation of complex
computer models that predict the temperature of engine parts in transient
operation. He insisted on basing calculations on fundamental physics, rather
than rules of thumb. It took the guesswork out of engine design, reducing the
time it takes to bring prototypes from drawing board to factory floor. It also
made it easier to diagnose problems on engines in service and improved engine
safety.
Dr. Bill Heiser, a retired US Air Force Academy engineering
professor and GE colleague, said Dr. Suo was known for “integrity,
judgment and generosity,” as well as “sound engineering instincts,
excellent management skills, natural leadership and patience.”
“He was individually responsible for keeping GE Aircraft Engines at the
cutting edge of heat transfer technology,” Dr. Heiser said. “The
efforts of Dr. Suo and the people he managed and influenced have had a direct,
positive, lasting impact on the propulsion industry.”
For that,
the American Society of Mechanical Engineers named him a Fellow of the society
in 2001, citing his lifetime of contributions to the profession.
More
than good scientist, colleagues also remembered him as a gentleman, a
conscientious manager who strove to be fair and kept the welfare of employees
his top priority.
Dr. Robert Bittle, who worked under Dr. Suo as a
young engineer in the 1980s, called him “the best boss I ever had.”
He was a role model for problem-solving, and he was kind during design
critiques. “That impressed me,” Dr. Bittle said, “because
usually the conference room was full of plenty of other folks who weren’t
so kind.”
At the same time, Dr. Suo made clear that work was not
his life.
After son Steven was born in 1968, Dr. Suo never missed a
Little League game or evening math session. When Mrs. Suo was recuperating from
heart surgery, he learned to cook for her while also attending an ailing
mother-in-law.
He devoured presidential biographies and books on the
Civil War. He volunteered as a sewer commissioner. He found time to build a
vacation home in Rhode Island, a wooden boat, and fine furniture from oak and
walnut.
When his young son tangled with a school bully, he told Dr.
Suo it must have been wonderful to have commanded respect as an Army officer.
“No one commands respect,” Dr. Suo replied. “You have to earn
it.”
After retirement, Dr. Suo devoted much of his time to his
favorite hobby, fishing. He built his own fly rods, tied flies, carved fish
models and caught many real ones on trips to Alaska, Montana, Oregon and
Michigan. He taught budding anglers many of his skills, work that led the
Buckeye United Fly Fishers to name him 2000 Fly Fisher of the Year. He took
great pleasure knowing that his son and daughter-in-law are deeply involved in
fly fishing now, as well.
