American aeronautical engineer, with particular emphasis in rockets and missiles. Employed by the Douglas Aircraft Company, 1934-1946, and by the U.S. Navy in 1945 to analyze German technology, he was then asked by the U.S. government to become a member of Project Rand, a think tank designed to further analyze the data received from Germany. Project Rand in turn became Rand Corporation, and Root continued there, working closely with the Air Force and the Deputy Chief of Staff in the Pentagon. In 1953 he joined Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in Burbank, California, and established a development plan for a missiles and space program. In 1957 Root was sent to Sunnyvale to build a plant to house such a project, and by 1961 he was president of Lockheed Missiles and Space Company. Throughout his career he served the U.S. government in various capacities, particularly with NASA. He occasionally lectured at Caltech.
From the description of Leonard Eugene Root papers, 1923-1983. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122566249
