As head of the Physics Department, growing it to a Division from 1955 to 1970, Bob Vaile made a name for the staff of SRI's Physics Division as experts in airblast and ground motion effects of nuclear explosions. For nearly 20 years, research in these areas was the focus of the Physics Division, furnishing critical information to the Department of Defense as the country wrestled to maintain superiority in the Cold War.
Bob was encouraged to come to SRI in 1948 by former classmate at the California Institute of Technology Jesse Hobson, who had recently been named Director of SRI. Bob's first research task was to lead a project, funded by major oil, utility, and railroad companies, to discover the cause of ground subsidence that had plagued the Long Beach area, causing extensive damage over time. The issue was whether water or oil was the cause. Depending on the results, some of the project's clients stood to lose large amounts of money. Bob was able to bring respect to the fledgling SRI by adroitly writing the final report so that it remained true to the scientific findings, yet did not offend the clients.
Bob's own idea of a frangible backfill to protect missile silos from ground motion, by surrounding a silo with material that would fail at the right pressures to reduce the blast energy on the silo, was tested at Nevada Test Site and proved to be a valid concept.
Bob's reputation among the Physics Division's clients, military and civilian, as an outstanding leader enhanced SRI's value by his astute reviews of project reports, particularly those that went to clients. Clients and researchers today still recall his diligence in ensuring that SRI's work received the best report possible.
As a result of the strong reputation established by Bob Vaile and his colleagues, in the late 1950s, Poulter Lab was given an opportunity to participate in the new Air Force program on nuclear weapon effects on reentry vehicles. Poulter Lab played a major role in the new program for over 30 years, and the work continues today.