Bob and I first met 45 years ago when he was teaching Aircraft Design at the University of Southern California.  So many students considered that class as the best in their BS degree.  Later Bob assisted me as a co-advisor to a PhD student experimentally studying laminar transition to turbulent flow on airfoils.  During that time, Bob became a strong advocate of the BWB (Blended Wing Body) and is now considered the father of modern day BWBs.  Its unique design and low drag convinced me that some day we would all be flying in BWBs.  My relationship with Bob led to two additional future PhD students researching  the aerodynamics and landing characteristics of the BWB in wind tunnel models.  The above photo was taken in the summer of 2024 showing Bob Lieberk, John Vassberg, myself and Mark Page at JetZero.   Mark Page founded JetZero which now has a contract to build a full scale BWB.  Perhaps we will indeed be flying in a BWB someday!

First, my condolences to Cindy and the whole Liebeck family.  Bob’s passing came after a long medical ordeal. He is now at peace in a better place.
My association with Bob goes all the way back to the Univ of Illinois Department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering in the late 1960’s.  We were fellow Illini. Bob achieved his PhD there in 1968. He went to work for Douglas Aircraft Co in Long Beach CA.  I achieved my BS in AAE in 1969. I essentially followed Bob to Douglas one year later. 
At Douglas I was always fascinated by Bob’s ability to take a question or a problem and distill it down to basic principles. From those he had a knack to develop the appropriate answer or solution. I believe he did that during his entire aero engineering career.  The development of the Liebeck Airfoils, clarification of Propeller and Windmill Theory, extensions of the Gurney Flap to aviation, the design of racecar wings, the development of the Blended Wing Body, the development of collegian aircraft design courses, and other un-nameable projects all succeeded due to Bob’s skill at engineering problem solving.  The world is a better place because of it.
Throughout the years, even after I moved to Gulfstream on the east coast, Bob and I maintained contact.  I often had aero questions that I knew Bob could and did help with.  The stories abound.  In this process Bob and I could often poke fun at each other and get a good laugh out of it.
One thing Bob and I had in common was an interest in Corvettes.  We often compared notes on the newest model or newest generation Corvette.  When Bob got a new one, it was usually white and basic.  My description was plain-jane.  He didn’t like that.  When I got a new one, it was usually yellow and loaded with options and carbon fiber stuff.  Bob described mine as showboat (or something worse).  I didn’t like that.  But we had fun poking at each other in the process.
I will miss those calls with Bob.  He was a great engineer and a good friend.

Bob Liebeck was imaginative, intelligent and dedicated to making the future happen. He was also a leader who knew how to get the best out of the teams he led. During my 30-year career at Mc Donnell Douglas and Boeing the most consequential projects I worked on were the Blended Wing Body and the Hybrid Wing Body. Bob's dedication and influence over these were key to the creation of the current Blended Wing project. Bob always reminded me of the pioneers of Aviation because he was willing to break the mold take risks and achieve what others thought impossible. Thank you, Bob, for all you did.

Bob at the BWB-17 first flight celebration on El Mirage Dry Lake

Mike Holden, Ben Tigner, Blaine Rawdon, Mark Meyer, Bill Watson, Debbie Runyan, Mark Page, Bob Liebeck assembled for the first flight of BWB-17 at El Mirage Dry Lake in July 1997

When I first met Bob, the first thing he said was that a car dealer told him he didn’t know a lick about aerodynamics and warn us about how much we’d be able to learn from him at UC Irvine. It is only later that I learn how humbling that statement is. It had his classic bit of humor and instantly made him feel accessible to his students.  His three courses at UC Irvine were hands down the best engineering course s that I have ever taken and probably ever will. 

He had that pure  joy of teaching engineering and watching his student learn. It still amazes me to this day that the father of the BWB, amongst other things, took genuine interest  in our mundane little DBF airplane and showed it off to his friends. 

It has been a wonderful honor to have been his student and his teacher’s aid for many years. I wish I had kept in touch with him more in the years after and tell him about the silly little airplane I’m working on today. I can only hope that I can do right by him and pass on his joy of engineering, wisdom and stories to the next generation of aircraft designers. Good bye Bob!

I first learned of Bob Liebeck when I started working on low Reynolds number airfoils at NASA Langley Research Center in 1985.  Little did I know then that Dr. Bob would get me into McDonnell Douglas four years later, that he would bring me into the fold of the Blended Wing Body team, and that he would sign off on my dissertation at UCI in 2006.  

I could never thank Bob enough for his mentorship and encouragement through all those years.  And the marvelous thing is that I was one of so many who benefitted from Bob’s generosity.  He simply had a bottomless capacity for mentoring and encouraging aerodynamicists and engineers.  

Bob will forever live in our hearts; and every time we think of him, we will feel gratitude, remember his love, and chuckle as we recount the funniest of his sayings (as we all know he had many!)

Our heartfelt condolences to the Liebeck family; we so enjoyed having Bob, in fine form, all to ourselves that beautiful morning.

Catching up with Bob one beautiful morning in Irvine, December 2023.  What a privilege and a treat!

With Bob's aerodynamics experience, he definitely admired the clean lines of the DH.88.  This is truly one of the most beautiful long distance racing airplanes ever produced.  Not obvious from the photo, but the aircraft is painted bright red, which also makes it stunning.  We all took our time admiring and talking about it.  Photo is again captured by Blaine Rawdon.

This photo represents one of my special memories of Bob as we traveled together quite a bit over the years.  Airplane guys will always be airplane guys and will seek out places to visit that fulfill that interest.  This photo was taken by Blaine Rawdon at the Shuttleworth Collection in England.  We are standing in front of the de Havilland DH.88 Comet that won the London to Melbourne, Australia air race in October 1934.  I believe the photo is from 2001, when we were just engaging Cranfield Aerospace to build the X-48B BWB demonstrator airplanes for Boeing.  David Dyer became a good friend to both Bob and I.  He was the Cranfield Program Manager that led designing and building the entire X-48 system.  Blaine, unfortunately not in the photo, was also key to the discussions with Cranfield to start up the program.

I am deeply saddened by the loss of my dear professor and advisor, Bob Liebeck. To the world, Bob was a brilliant mind, but to me, he was a father figure.
Bob’s care for me went far beyond the classroom or my career. He invested in my whole life—always asking about my feelings, my well-being, and my children. He was extremely happy to hear about my children’s successes, celebrating their milestones as if they were his own. I truly considered him a 'Godfather' who was always willing to listen and offer unwavering support.
Many people have told me they heard about me through Bob’s stories before ever meeting me; knowing he spoke of me with such pride is a great honor. His knowledge, care, and humor were exceptional, and he was instrumental in helping me build the stable life I have today.
The community has lost a legend, and I have lost a piece of my family. My thoughts are with his loved ones. Rest in peace, Bob. I will miss you dearly.

Much sympathy to Bob's family. Lou Gorz, here.  But what a life he lived! I'm from the younger years, tagging along with my brother, Carl and Bob. I was 11 years younger than Bob. He was full of stories and laughs, always talked to me on my level, never knew he was brilliant. He never promoted himself. I never knew he was a straight A student! They met while flying wired planes at the same field. Then they graduated to Free Flight models. The idea being that they cocked the tail to turn in circles. It never worked. They would jump into Bob's beat up Studebaker and chase the planes two towns over and found them in yards and trees, but never lost a single plane. Then, moved up to remote controlled planes, would fly them too far out, lose control and it was back into the Studebaker, again. He was at our house so much we just called him Big Brother Bob. The next level of flight was remote controlled planes with more powerful signals and the exciting chases ended.  Carl's plane ran out of gas and he landed 100 yards from us. Bob said, come on Louie I'll race you to it. I was 16 and fast. I was with him for about 30 yards when he just shifted into another gear and motored right away from me...wearing Desert Boots!  I had forgotten that Bob had been a National level barrel jumper. Bob came over one day with his New Chevy Corvier, with the engine in back. After going over every inch of it, Bob and Carl backed out of the driveway, put it in gear and the back of the engine dropped to the street. They looked at it and discovered the back of the engine was held in place by only 2 bolts of medium size. Anyone remember Ralph Nader? Bob and Carl remained life-long friends. Carl would tell me what Bob was working on....High lift, low drag wings, for airplanes as well as Dan Gurney's Coyote Ford Indy cars, to winning first prize for an aircraft he designed  and sent in to Popular Science, I think it was. I began to think, Hey, Bob is really smart!!  I'll never forget him .

I was priviledged to be in attendance at NASA-Langley in Virginia many years ago, hearing Mr. Liebeck's spirited promotion for development of blended wing body (BWB) aircraft.  It appears his vision, wisdom and knowledge now are bearing fruit in an expanding array of designs which will help make aviation more efficient and safer.   From an admirer -- Thank You, Sir !! 
Geoff Steele, Huntersville, NC

My condolences to Cindy and the family.  I have known Bob for 50 years both as a friend and colleague.   Good memories and respect for who he was, his technical contributions and our relationship over those years.  I will miss him.

Bob had a gift to see potential in students before they saw it in themselves. He helped shape entire careers.
At UCI, he'd finish a long day at Boeing, teach his aircraft design class, and then go to Design Build Fly meetings at 7pm. Not because he had to, but cause that's where students were. At my 1st DBF meeting as a freshman, I stood in the back of the room. After the meeting, Bob sought me out, asked about me, what brought me to aerospace, and whether I had plans for Thanksgiving. This was Bob's way—making every student feel seen.
Bob never led with his credentials. Students would discover his dual MIT position and groundbreaking work from others. His BWB lecture didn't just teach aerodynamics—it planted seeds about sustainable aviation, industry, and academia that students would carry forward in various forms.
He visited me in grad school at MIT, taking time to have coffee. He gave me a sparks of encouragement to keep going in moments of doubt. At the end of my PhD, I was too crippled by imposter syndrome to put together applications for academic positions. However, Bob helped me not forget my aspirations. I submitted my applications.
But if you were to ask Bob about this, he would say he had nothing to do with it, he was just a cheerleader. That was the kind of person he was. Yes, an amazing scholar— The only person I’ve ever known who could give a 1 hr lecture using slides with only a few bullet points and no pictures while fully captivating every single person in the room. 
But he was also a friend. A spark. A listener. The kind of advisor and mentor who'd take time, after a long day at Boeing, teaching, and a student project meeting, to see you and encourage you to not sit in the back and to ask about your Thanksgiving plans. Bob's legacy isn't just in aircraft he designed or papers he published. It's in students who learned to see possibility in times of doubt. We will all remember him in our hearts, and I only hope we will to carry his work forward.

Bob had a great love of motorycles, and many motorcycles over the years.  Bob purchased the TT in 1977, the year he and I met,  started working together, riding together and a great friendship.  It is the only motorcycle he never sold, he passed custody.  A common bond we will always share.

Bob, Mark Maughmer and I at Bob's 80th birthday celebration at the AIAA conference in Florida.

This photo was taken at the 19th annual ASAT Conference hosted by AIAA Student Branch at UCI  and the AIAA  Orange County Section at UC Irvine.

I was one of the board member for AIAA at UCI and before this conference, I asked Professor Liebeck if he can bless us with his presence. He said he has a Jet Zero meeting in Washington DC earlier that day but he will try to make it. AND HE DID!! He came to the conference straight from the airport. It shows how deeply he cared for his students as well as for the org AIAA. 
I am very grateful to had him as a teacher, mentor and as a friend.

OBITUARIO

Robert H. Liebeck, PhD

1 febrero, 1938 – 12 enero, 2026

Pacific View Mortuary & Memorial Park

Muestre su apoyo

Comparta Un Recuerdo

Comparta
Un Obituario

Obtenga actualizaciones

Servicios