engineering

Stephen J. Kline

Stephen J. Kline is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Stephen J. Kline rather than just read about it. In short: Stephen Jay Kline (February 25, 1922 – October 24, 1997) was an American mechanical engineer and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. He was known for his experimental work on the physics of turbulent shear flows and for interdisciplinary work on the innovation process, including the chain-linked model, and on the philosophy of science and technology.

Key takeaways

Stephen J. Kline belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
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Connect Stephen J. Kline to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Stephen J. Kline from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Stephen Jay Kline (February 25, 1922 – October 24, 1997) was an American mechanical engineer and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. He was known for his experimental work on the physics of turbulent shear flows and for interdisciplinary work on the innovation process, including the chain-linked model, and on the philosophy of science and technology. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1981, and received the 1989 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Robert Henry Thurston Lecture Award.

Education and career Kline earned a BA and an MS from Stanford University and a doctorate (ScD) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1952. He joined Stanford in 1952 as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, rising to full professor and serving as a department leader, and he was named Professor Emeritus. At Stanford, he was also a co-founder of the university's Science, Technology and Society Program.

Research contributions Kline's best-known scientific work concerned the structure of turbulent boundary layers. Working with W. C. Reynolds and others at Stanford in the early 1960s, he used flow visualization techniques (including the hydrogen bubble method) to reveal organized, intermittent "bursting" structures in the near-wall region of turbulent flows. The resulting paper in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics in 1967 became one of the most-cited papers in the field. His NAE election citation recognized "contributions to understanding the physics underlying turbulent shear flows, methods for internal flow design, and leadership in technology–society programs." He also wrote Similitude and Approximation Theory on dimensional analysis and modeling. In the later part of his career, Kline turned to the study of technological innovation and multidisciplinary thought. With economist Nathan Rosenberg he developed the chain-linked model of innovation (1986), an influential alternative to the linear model of innovation, an argument he also made in his widely cited article "Innovation Is Not a Linear Process" (Research Management, 1985). He summarized wrote the book Conceptual Foundations for Multidisciplinary Thinking (Stanford University Press, 1995).

Awards and honors Kline received the ASME Fluids Engineering Division Award in 1975 and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1981. He received the 1989 ASME Robert Henry Thurston Lecture Award, delivering a lecture entitled "Innovation Styles in Japan and the United States: Cultural Bases; Implications for Competitiveness". He was also awarded the ASME Medal.

Selected works Kline, S. J. Similitude and Approximation Theory. McGraw-Hill, 1965 (reissued Springer, 1986). Kline, S. J., W. C. Reynolds, F. A. Schraub, and P. W. Runstadler. "The Structure of Turbulent Boundary Layers." Journal of Fluid Mechanics 30, no. 4 (1967): 741–773. Kline, S. J. "Innovation Is Not a Linear Process." Research Management 28 (July–August 1985): 36–45. Kline, S. J. Innovation Styles in Japan and the United States: Cultural Bases; Implications for Competitiveness. The 1989 Thurston Lecture, Report INN-3, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 1990. Kline, S. J. Conceptual Foundations for Multidisciplinary Thinking. Stanford University Press, 1995.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Stephen J. Kline

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Stephen J. Kline claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Stephen J. Kline before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Stephen J. Kline ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Stephen J. Kline

In research: Stephen J. Kline appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Stephen J. Kline in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Stephen J. Kline is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1922 births, 1997 deaths, American mechanical engineers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Stephen J. Kline outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Stephen J. Kline in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Stephen J. Kline means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Stephen J. Kline out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Stephen J. Kline in simple terms?

Why does Stephen J. Kline matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Stephen J. Kline?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Stephen J. Kline.