At that time, the famous aerodynamicist Antonio Ferri, a friend of Theodore von Kármán, joined the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn.
[2] Libby's research focused on a broad range of topics in fluid dynamics including boundary layers, turbulence, aerothermochemistry and combustion.
He, along with Keith Stewartson, were the first to identify the eigensolutions of boundary layer equations and to study the uniqueness of the boundary-layer solutions.
He authored numerous books and monographs, which include An Introduction to Turbulence,[8] Turbulent Reacting Flows[9] (co-authored with Forman A. Williams), Space Flight and Re-Entry Trajectories,[10] A Theoretical Analysis of the Turbulent Mixing of Reactive Gases with Application to the Supersonic Combustion of Hydrogen,[11] Some Perturbation Solutions in Laminar Boundary Layer Theory,[12] and Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of Supersonic Combustion.
[13] Libby was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1999 for contributions as a researcher, author, and educator who advanced knowledge of fluid dynamics, turbulence, and combustion through theoretical analyses.