{"exhibit":{"id":15,"title":"Theodore von K\u00e1rm\u00e1n and Southern California's Hydraulic Infrastructure","description":"

Theodore von K\u00e1rm\u00e1n, a pioneering aerospace engineer and founding director of GALCIT and later JPL, is most widely recognized for his contributions to aerodynamics and astronautics. Yet this exhibit highlights his lesser-known but significant involvement in hydraulic engineering, work that proved critical to the development of Southern California's modern water infrastructure.<\/span><\/p>\n

In November 1933, Caltech and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California formalized a partnership establishing the Cooperative Hydraulic Machinery Laboratory, completed in August 1934. In the years that followed, the laboratory pursued research across a range of hydraulic topics, including pump efficiency experiments and pumping system designs that directly informed the construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct, a vital system that to this day delivers water from Lake Havasu to greater Southern California. This work formed part of a broader program of government-funded collaboration that contributed to major Western water infrastructure projects in the decade following. <\/span><\/p>","credits":"Vishal Yalla","featured":0,"public":1,"theme":"","theme_options":null,"slug":"karmanhydraulic","added":"2026-03-17 22:02:24","modified":"2026-03-17 22:08:13","owner_id":15,"use_summary_page":0,"cover_image_file_id":null},"item":{"id":40,"item_type_id":6,"collection_id":null,"featured":0,"public":1,"added":"2026-03-17 21:59:16","modified":"2026-03-17 21:59:16","owner_id":15}}