Aerodynamic Design

Abstract

I am very conscious of the great honour of being invited to deliver this fourth Reynolds-Prandtl Lecture. At the same time, I am very pleased. As far as I am concerned, the spirit of these two great scientists is still alive. They are both with me every day—at least, I have pictures of them in my office and I look at them every day. As has been said before, their influence is as strong as ever and many of the problems that engaged their attention are even today only partially solved. However, there is more to it than that. Their example and their work have left me with many other problems to think about, which concern the kind of work we do and the aims we pursue. The present lecture gives me an opportunity to put before you some of the thoughts that occupy my mind and which I should like to be discussed. I feel quite strongly that these problems deserve our attention. It may even be vital for the survival of research in our field to find answers to them, which satisfy not only ourselves but also the society in which we live.