Dr. Lippisch lived in Iowa, don't know where else. Is that who you are thinking of?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Lippisch
Larry Conover (Lucky Lindy FF designer) was a model maker for Dr. Lippisch in the 1950's, I got to know him a bit when I lived in Colorado Springs. Loved tinkering with any kind of model esp. if it was something different and interesting.