Robert E. Ball specialized in structural dynamics, buckling, and survivability in the Department of Aeronautics at the Naval Postgraduate School for more than 30 years. He was the first to develop an educational program on aircraft combat survivability as a design discipline. He has taught thousands of military officers, DoD civilians, and other civilian personnel in the aircraft industry on the fundamentals of survivability. He also served as an expert witness on the National Transportation Safety Board’s public hearing on the TWA 800 accident.