Jean-Jacques Degroof is a technology consultant with experience teaching entrepreneurship in
Belgium. The author of From the Basement to the Dome: How MIT's Unique Culture Created a Thriving Entrepreneurial Community, Jean-Jacques Degroof has extensive knowledge of innovation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Established 75 years ago, the MIT Gas Turbine Laboratory (GTL) has been a major driver of progress in the way that jets are powered through fuel combustion. A major asset in testing components since the inception of GTL has been the De Laval wind tunnel and air system. Situated in Building 31 and complementing the MIT AeroAstro Wright Brothers Wind Tunnel, it delivers air to a range of test facilities. As air moves over a stationary object (such as a prototype wing or aircraft) within a controlled environment, the operator is able to take aerodynamic measurements.
Until 2017, the GTL was powered by a motor drive system taken from the Gato-class submarine USS Halibut, which ran ashore during World War II. Decommissioned in 1945 in New Hampshire, the submarine had an intact motor that researcher Eddie Taylor transported to MIT and installed at the newly opened GTL in 1947. During a 2017 renovation, a key logistical challenge involved finding a new electric motor that had characteristics similar enough to power the De Laval air system.
