Rose Katherine Morton-Sayre (December 3, 1925 – November 12, 1999) was an American mathematician known for her work in fluid mechanics. The Morton number, a dimensionless parameter used to describe bubbles, is named after her.[1]

Morton was born in Albemarle, North Carolina. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (at that time a women's college) with a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1948;[2] at the university, she was president of the Square Circle Club.[2] She worked at the David Taylor Model Basin, a test facility for the U. S. Navy, from 1949 to 1960.[3]

Her husband was mechanical engineer Clifford L. Sayre, Jr., who also worked at the David Taylor Model Basin from 1956 to 1960.[4]

Selected publications

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  • Haberman, W. L.; Morton, R. K. (1953), An experimental investigation of the drag and shape of air bubbles rising in various liquids, Report 802, Navy Department: The David W. Taylor Model Basin
  • Haberman, W. L.; Sayre, R. M. (1953), Motion of rigid and fluid spheres in stationary and moving liquids inside cylindrical tubes, Report 1143, Navy Department: The David W. Taylor Model Basin

References

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  1. ^ Pfister, Michael; Hager, Willi H. (May 2014), "History and significance of the Morton number in hydraulic engineering", Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 140 (5): 02514001, CiteSeerX 10.1.1.1024.4141, doi:10.1061/(asce)hy.1943-7900.0000870
  2. ^ a b The Nineteen Forty-Eight Pine Needles, Greensboro, North Carolina: The Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, 1948, p. 69
  3. ^ "Rose Morton Sayre", Obituaries, Washington Post, November 11, 1999
  4. ^ Mechanical Engineering Professor Emeritus Clifford L. Sayre, Jr. Passes at 88, A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland, April 8, 2016, retrieved 2018-09-05