The Jet Propulsion Laboratory

ORLD WAR 11, the "Physicists' War;" naturally inspired a number of defense activities at the California Institute of Technology.Although this war has now receded almost a decade into the past, one defense project.the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, has proved itself to be of such continuing value that it has not only survived, but has grown tremendously.The need for a propulsion plant for the assisted takeoff of aircraft and for sounding rockets brought the Laboratory into existence in 1940, as an extension of work begun in 1936 by a small group of Caltech students under the direction of Dr. Theodore von Karman..Starting from-this specific practical problem, the interests of the Laboratory have extended ii many direc-