Dr Wernher von Braun (1912-1977), German-American rocket pioneer. Von Braun was educated at Zurich and Berlin Institutes of Technology. He started work on rocket design in 1932, becoming technical head of the German Peenemunde research centre in 1938 where he was responsible for the development of the V-2 rocket. At the end of the war, von Braun surrendered to the American army and became a leading figure in the American space programme, designing the first US satellite launcher (Jupiter) in 1958. Wernher von Braun received the 1975 National Medal of Science.