Over the years , and particularly during World War II , BRL 's permanent technical staff was augmented by a number of eminent scientists and engineers serving in various capacities . Among those was noted American astronomer Edwin P. Hubble who served as Chief of the External Ballistics Branch of the BRL during which he directed a large volume of research in exterior ballistics during the war which increased the effective fire power of bombs and projectiles . His work was facilitated by his personal development of several items of equipment for the instrumentation used in exterior ballistics , the most outstanding development being the high-speed clock camera , which made possible the study of the characteristics of bombs and low velocity projectiles in flight . The results of his studies was credited with greatly improving design , performance , and military effectiveness of bombs and rockets . Other included members of the Scientific Advisory Committee ( SAC ) which was established in 1940 . Among its member were : Other consultants included astronomer Dorrit Hoffleit ; chemists John Gamble Kirkwood ( recipient of the Langmuir Award ) , George Kistiakowsky ( recipient of the Medal for Merit , Medal of Freedom , National Medal of Science , and the Priestley Medal ) , and Franklin Long ; computer scientist Herman Goldstine ( recipient of the National Medal of Science ) ; mathematicians George Carrier ( recipient of the National Medal of Science ) and Richard Courant ; mechanical engineer Howard Wilson Emmons ; and physicists Walker Bleakney ( a pioneer of mass spectrometry ) , Joseph O. Hirschfelder ( recipient of the National Medal of Science ) , Norman Ramsey ( Nobel laureate ) , Robert G. Sachs ( founder and director of Argonne National Laboratory ) , and L.H. Thomas ( the first fellow in IBM 's Watson Research Center )
Medal of Freedom
Medal of Freedom (1945)
Ballistic Research Laboratory