John I. Yellott
| John I. Yellott | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
October 25, 1908 Bel Air Maryland |
| Died | December 30, 1986 (aged 78) Phoenix, Arizona |
| Residence | United States |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Solar engineering |
| Institutions |
Manhattan Project University of Rochester Arizona State University Yellott Solar Laboratories |
| Alma mater | Johns Hopkins University |
| Known for | Passive solar technology |
John I. Yellott (October 25, 1908 – December 30, 1986) was a scientist internationally recognized as a pioneer in passive solar energy, and an inventor with many patents to his credit. In his honor the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (“ASME”) Solar Division confers a biannual "John I. Yellott Award" which "recognizes ASME members who have demonstrated sustained leadership within the Solar Energy Division, have a reputation for performing high-quality solar energy research and have made significant contributions to solar engineering through education, state or federal government service or in the private sector."
John Ingle Yellott was born in Bel Air, Maryland, the son of the Reverend Dr. John I. (1873-1935) and Mildred Walker Nelson Yellott (1876-1954). He was educated at Bel Air High School and Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, and then studied Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, receiving his M.E. in 1931 and his M.M.E. with distinction in 1933.
Yellott embarked on a career in academia at the Stephens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, and at Illinois Institute of Technology, where he was chairman of the Department of Mechanical Engineering from 1940 to 1943 and director of the Institute of Gas Technology from 1943 to 1945. During World War II he was assigned to the Manhattan Project to work on the development of atomic weapons as a consultant to the Metallurgical Laboratory of the University of Chicago.
After the War Yellott served as Director of Research, Locomotive Development Committee, Bituminous Coal Research from 1945 until 1955. In 1955 at age 47 after having already achieved recognition in steam, coal, gas, and nuclear energy, he switched fields—to passive solar energy. Yellott said the change resulted from "the realization that the entire world, and the United States in particular, was running out of fluid fuels, and that we must find a way to gain economic access to the limitless energy of the sun." In a 1974 interview with Popular Science Magazine Yellott said he anticipated soon "[t]he inexorable forces of economics will bring about the age of solar energy." He organized the 1957 Living with the Sun competition, a seminal event in the history of the solar house.
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