Michael Dublin

Michael Dublin loved learning and lived every day of his life reading...his books being amongst his most prized possessions. During his lifetime he amassed a collection of over 4,000 books, most of which have been donated to the San Diego State University Library in his memory.

Born March 19, 1916 in Ludlow, Pennsylvania of immigrant parents, he was the second oldest of four children. His father, Peter, was born in the Ukraine and his mother, Anastasia, in Austria. Peter moved his wife, and at that time three children, to Rome, New York in 1925 for better employment opportunities, but also as Peter stated "to give our children a good start in life. Anastasia and I made sure that Rome had good schools before we ever moved here. The importance of a good school system cannot be overemphasized. For not only do our schools play a major part in molding the character of our children, but they develop their minds and inspire ideas! We cannot overlook the fact that among today's students are tomorrow's leaders...and responsibility for the future welfare of our country will fall on them."

As Michael grew up, his parents continually imparted the importance of education to him. He worked hard throughout his school years and worked odd jobs to save money for his college education. With the help of his parents, he left for Ann Arbor, Michigan to begin his college education at the University of Michigan in 1934 as a student in the engineering department. Because he came from a poor family, he had to complete college in as few semesters as possible, taking as many as 25 units per semester...while continuing to work. This motivated him to earn four degrees in five years; one in mathematics, the other three in engineering disciplines: aeronautical, civil and engineering mechanics. In his last year of college, he was recruited by several aeronautical companies, and with one suitcase in hand, he boarded a train for San Diego, California to begin his career with Convair/General Dynamics. This career spanned 42 years.

While at General Dynamics he was recognized as the flutter and stability expert and headed up many different departments working on a variety of aircraft. He was given the highest of secret clearances and became part of the "brain trust" of highly skilled individuals charged with solving the unsolvable. Michael Dublin served his aeronautical profession well; investigating airplane crashes for the Federal Aviation Administration and serving as an advisor to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. He was a guest lecturer at international symposiums in Brussels, Belgium and in the Soviet Union, where he was able to deliver his speech in the Russian language. He was one of very few individuals in the United States to have full command of the Russian language as it pertained to the technical aspects of engineering.

While in the Soviet Union, he met a family who had a very sick two-year-old daughter. They had a great deal of difficulty in obtaining the needed medicine in the Soviet Union to control the girl's illness. Michael arranged the very challenging chore of obtaining the medicine in the United States and having it transported to the parents of Svetlana, an activity which continued until his death. Of this good deed, Michael said "In my lifetime I've had so many people help me, it's my turn to do some good for somebody else".

During Michael Dublin's distinguished career as an aeronautical engineer, he amassed a vast technical library on aeronautical engineering in both the English and Russian languages. He was an omnivorous reader, often times reading four to five books per week. He visited the library almost on a daily basis and was well known by all library staff members in four different libraries. There can be no better way to honor Michael Dublin than by donating his lifetime book collection to one of his favorite places to visit...San Diego State University Library. May his books be enjoyed by many, knowing that to him, education was the basis for success!

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