Çambel, Ali Bulent, 1923-

Ali Bulent Cambel (pronounced “Tchambel”) was born in Merano, Italy, on April 9, 1923, to Turkish parents. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen on May 15, 1951. He received his B.A. in Exact Sciences from Robert College in Istanbul, Turkey in 1942, his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 1946, and his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 1950, from the University of Iowa. Cambel joined the Northwestern University faculty as Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering in 1953. He became Professor of Mechanical Engineering in 1956, and was Walter P. Murphy Distinguished Professor from 1961 to 1968. Cambel was Chairman of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Northwestern University, 1957 to 1966. He also directed the Gas Dynamics Laboratory between 1953 and 1966. Among many other consulting posts, Cambel served as consultant to the Office of Science and Technology, Executive Office of the President, in 1963. After leaves of absence in 1966-67 and 1967-68, Cambel left Northwestern in 1968 to join the faculty of Wayne State University. As of April 1998, he was Professor Emeritus of Engineering and Applied Science at George Washington University.

Cambel's research involved mechanical engineering, gas dynamics, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and propulsion systems. He holds the patent on flame stabilization in jet engines. Cambel published numerous articles and several books on thermodynamics and gas dynamics.

From the guide to the Ali Bulent Cambel (1923- ), Papers, 1954-1964, (Northwestern University Archives)