Malina, Frank J.

Frank Malina (1912-1981) was an American aeronautical engineer and kinetic artist. Born in Brenham, Texas to parents of Czechoslovakian extraction (both musicians), Malina was for many years a scientist and directed American rocket research and UNESCO projects. In 1950 he learned the basics of oil painting from Reginald Weston and began to experiment, eventually leaving his UNESCO work to devote himself entirely to the pursuit of art. An early explorer in the field of digital art and the use of computers to create art, he developed the Lumidyne and Reflectodyne techniques which allowed him to essentially paint with light.

From the guide to the Frank J. Malina Papers, 1953-1971, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)

Frank J. Malina, aerospace engineer and rocketry pioneer, co-founded the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (GALCIT) Rocket Research Project and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and served as Director of the Laboratory for two years, 1944-46. When he died in 1981, Malina left more than 25,000 items in his home relating to his scientific career, including personal letters, reports, notes, manuscript materials, and reprints that shed light on his career as an artist and founding editor of the art journal Leonardo.

The California Institute of Technology's project to arrange, describe, and microfiche the Frank Malina papers traces its roots to discussions in 1981 with Bruce C. Murray, who was then director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Roger Malina, Frank's son, and Caltech Archivist Judith R. Goodstein. In fall 1982, following a preliminary appraisal of the collection in his home in boulogne sur Seine, a suburb of Paris, France, the first installment of the Malina aeronautical papers, 153 pounds of records, arrived in Pasadena; the second installment, airfreighted from Paris in summer 1983, added an additional 275 poungs. By December 1984, the contents of 42 manuscript boxes, representing an estimated 40,000 original records, had been reproduced on 491 microfiche cards.

As planned, Mrs. Marjorie Duckworth Malina gave the original collection to the Library of Congress in 1984. Literary rights to the unpublished writings of Frank J. Malina in these papers in the Library of Congress and the microfiche edition have been dedicated to the public. However, users of the collection are advised that Mrs. Malina has retained exclusive rights to such writings for her lifetime.

From the description of The Frank J. Malina Collection : guide to a microfiche edition. (Jet Propulsion Laboratory Library and Archives). WorldCat record id: 733103312

Biographical Note

• 1912, Oct. 2: Born, Brenham, Tex.
• 1934: Graduated, Texas A & M University, College Station, Tex.
• 1934 - 1936 : Teaching fellow, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.
• 1935: M.A., mechanical engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.
• 1936: M.A., aeronautical engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. Cofounder, Daniel Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (GALCIT) Rocket Research Project First rocket motor test
• 1937: With W. Bollay, J. Parsons, A. M. O. Smith, and H. S. Tsien wrote report no. 1 of GALCIT Rocket Research
• 1938: Wrote “Report on Jet Propulsion for the National Academy of Science Committee on Air Corps Research”
• 1939: Married Lilian Darcourt (divorced 1947)
• 1940: Ph.D. in aeronautics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.
• 1940 - 1942 : Research fellow, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.
• 1941: Successfully tested solid-propellant jet engines on a light, low-wing monoplane, known as the Ercoupe
• 1942: Joined five colleagues in forming the Aerojet Engineering Corp. Assistant professor of aeronautics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.
• 1943: With Von Theodore Kármán,and H. S Tsien proposed a long-range rocket missile research program in report identified as JPL-1, the first usage of the name Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• 1944: Guided missile work, supported by Army Ordnance Department
• 1945: Acting director, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
• 1945 - 1947 : Appointed to Sub-Committee on Propulsion Systems, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
• 1946: Coauthor with M. Summerfield “The Problem of Escape from the Earth by Rocket”
• 1947: Joined Division of Scientific Research and Higher Education, Unesco, Paris, France
• 1949: Married Majorie Duckworth
• 1951: Head, Division of Scientific Research and Higher Education, Unesco, Paris, France
• 1953: Became full-time artist
• 1955: Exhibited kinetic paintings at the Galerie Colette Allendy, Paris, France
• 1960: Founding member, International Academy of Astronautics
• 1961 - 1965 : Coeditor, Acta Astronautica
• 1962: Received Order of Merit, French Society for Encouragement of Research and Invention
• 1963: President, International Academy of Astronautics
• 1963: Fellow, American Rocket Society Fellow, American Astronomical Society
• 1966: Installed kinetic mural “The Cosmos,” Pergamon Press Building, Oxford, England
• 1968: Founded Leonardo
• 1973: One-man show, Teheran Trade Fair, Iran
• 1981, Nov 9: Died, Paris, France

From the guide to the Frank J. Malina Papers, 1912-1986, (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)