Frank Bunker Gilbreth Sr. was born in 1900 in West Virginia. He received his B.S. and M.E. from West Virginia University and Ph.D from Cornell University. He worked as an industrial engineer for several companies from 1923-1930. From 1928-1949, he was a professor of industrial engineering at the University of Iowa where he developed their industrial engineering curriculum and laboratory. In 1949, he became a professor at UCLA until his retirement, focusing on engineering and production management. Gilbreth made significant contributions to the fields of motion study, time study, and work measurement and published over 60 papers. He received several honors including the Society of Management Gilbreth Medal in 1941.