Ernest Edwin Sechler (1905-1979) was an aerospace engineer and scientist who specialized in thin-shell structures.
He earned his doctorate in 1934 at Caltech as one of the early students of Theodore von Kármán with a dissertation on the mechanics of thin-plate compression.
Von Kármán showed that by stiffening with re-enforcing strips the "effective width" of metal sheets could be increased to withstand the load aloft.
In 1934 Sechler wrote his thesis, The ultimate compressive strength of thin sheet metal panels, under von Karman's supervision.
"[1] His thin-wall structures included missiles, booster rockets, and a movable dome for Palomar Observatory.