Joseph Henry Keenan (August 24, 1900 – July 17, 1977) was an American thermodynamicist and mechanical engineer noted for his work in the calculation of steam tables, research in jet-rocket propulsion, and his work in furthering the development in the understanding of the laws of thermodynamics in the mid 20th century.
His classic 1941 textbook Thermodynamics served as a fundamental teaching tool in various engineering curricula during the 1940s and 1950s.
[1][2] He earned a bachelor's degree in naval architecture and marine engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1922.
A major portion of Keenan's career was devoted to the development of accurate tables of the properties of steam, which are vital to the electric power industry.
He was award the ASME Worcester Reed Warner Medal in 1955 for work on thermodynamics and the properties of steam.