Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Zephram Cochrane
5. Cochrane's Legacy
With minimal physical appearances across the franchise, Zephram Cochrane is still one of its most influential characters within the Star Trek universe.
Galactic travel is nothing without his initial work and continued input to commence the Warp Five Project but his imprint is seen in other aspects of the show as well.
Certainly there's the cochrane as a measurement of subspace distortion and the Cochrane Equation is a basic principle of warp theory. The scientist is commemorated in a medal of honor (Timeless) and even in an alternative universe his presence is felt with their version of the award named the Medal of Excellence (Non Sequitur).
Enterprise went as far as to establish the in-universe myth that Cochrane personally signed the inside casings of the warp engines on every J-Class freighter and later would have schools and science academies named after him.
Finally there have been at least one starship named after him and featured in TNG's The Drumhead and DS9's pilot Emissary. For the record and all those starship fans, it's an Oberth Class with the registry NCC-59318. It was also a vessel that took part in the later Dominion War cropping up in references in at least four DS9 episodes.