Paul B. MacCready Papers

Paul B. MacCready (1925–2007) came to Caltech as a graduate student, initially obtaining his Master’s degree in physics in 1948 and then a PhD in aeronautical engineering in 1952. He was a visionary, an inventor, and an entrepreneur who pioneered alternative energy solutions through his company, AeroVironment.

The collection documents most aspects of MacCready’s personality and career through a diverse array of documents, media, objects, manuscripts, and printed material spanning over seventy years (ca. 1930-2002). Especially prevalent within the collection are papers and ephemera from 1977 to 1985 during which time MacCready was working on his human-powered airplanes, the Gossamer Condor and Gossamer Albatross. The papers also document his work in alternative energy solutions.