IN MEMORIAM

Joseph F. Sutter, a Slovene-American designer of Boeing 747 and an honorary doctor of the University of Nova Gorica died at the age of 96.

Joseph F. Sutter was born to Slovene parents in the USA in 1921. He studies aeronautics at the University of Washington, where he graduated in 1943 and became an engineer of aeronautics. In 1945, he started working for Boeing as an aeronautics specialist. On the basis of his experience and capabilities, he became the head of the development projects that involved construction of three generations of planes. In the 1960s, he became the lead designer of Boeing 747, the plane that became a world-wide success (and still is) in terms of global travel and transport.

Mr. Sutter is known around the world as the “Jumbo Jet father”. His professional work was tied to the development of almost all of Boeing’s planes (B-727, B-737, B-747, B-757 in B-767) in the second half of the previous century. In 1986, he retired as the vice-president of the Boeing company, but he remained active in development projects. Among other things, he worked as a consultant in the team of senior consultants. On his 90th birthday, Boeing named the main engineering building in the department for commercial planes after him.

Sutter also contributed a lot to the safety of space travel, as he worked as an expert in the American presidential committee which investigated the accident of the space shuttle Challenger in the second half of the 1980s decade.

Joseph Sutter was the recipient of many prestigious awards. He received the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Aircraft Design Award for his achievements with the B-747 designs, a Guggenheim medal, Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, and Pathfinder Award of the Museum of Flight. In 1984, he became a member of the American National Academy of Engineering, and in 1985, President Reagan awarded him the US Medal of Technology. Based on his exceptional achievements in the field of aviation development, Joseph F. Sutter became an honorary doctor of the University of Nova Gorica in 2004.

The school and staff members at the University of Nova Gorica would like to express our deepest condolences.