Inventions: Thermoblast Flame-Jet Drill

Inventor: James A. Browning ’44

Scientists drilling into the Ross Ice Shelf of Antarctica can look back at millions of years of the frozen continent’s history. Probably few researchers, however, know of a more recent bit of ice shelf history.

Thirty-five years ago a new kind of drilling technology, dubbed “Thermoblast” by its inventor, Thayer Professor James A. Browning ’44, was successfully field tested on the polar ice. In 1977 Browning’s high-temperature rocket drill pierced the 1,400-foot-thick ice shelf so scientists could study the ocean underneath. Drilling time: nine hours.