Hans Albert Einstein

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Hans Albert Einstein
Born Hans Albert Einstein
May 14, 1904(1904-05-14)
Bern, Switzerland
Died July 26, 1973(1973-07-26) (aged 69)
Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA
Cause of death Heart failure
Residence Switzerland (1904-1926) Germany (1926-1938) USA (1938-1973)
Nationality Switzerland (1904-1973) USA (1943-1973)
Education ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Occupation Hydraulic engineer
Employer University of California, Berkeley
Height 5'8"
Weight 195 lbs.
Title Professor of Hydraulic Engineering
Children Bernhard Caesar Einstein, Klaus Martin Einstein and Evelyn Einstein.
Parents Albert Einstein and Mileva Maric
Relatives Eduard Einstein, Lieserl Einstein
Website
[2]
Notes
"I have also considered many scientific plans during my pushing you around in your pram!"Albert Einstein in a letter to his son Hans Albert, June 1918 -

Hans Albert Einstein (14 May 1904–26 July 1973) was a Swiss-American engineer and educator, and the second child and first son of Albert Einstein and Mileva Maric.

Hans Albert was born in Bern, Switzerland, where his father worked as a clerk in the patent office. His younger brother, Eduard Einstein, was born in 1910 and died in 1965. The fate of his older sister, Lieserl Einstein, Albert Einstein's and Mileva Marić's first child, is unknown. Their parents divorced in 1919 after living apart for five years.

In 1927 he married Frieda Knecht. Ironically, Albert Einstein disapproved of Frieda much as his parents had of Mileva. Hans Albert and Frieda had five children — Bernhard Caesar (1930-2008) was a physicist, and engineer. Klaus Martin (1932-1938) died of diphtheria. Two subsequent boys died several days after their birth. They adopted a daughter, Evelyn (1941-2011), soon after her birth. Frieda died in 1958, and Hans Albert later married Elizabeth Roboz.

Hans Albert followed his father's footsteps and studied at ETH, the Swiss Federal Institute of technology, in Zurich, Switzerland. In 1926 he was awarded the diploma in civil engineering. From 1926 to 1930 he worked as a steel designer on a bridge project in Dortmund. In 1936 Hans Albert obtained the doctor of technical science degree. His doctoral thesis "Bed Load Transport as a Probability Problem " is considered the definitive work on sedimentation transportation.

Hans Albert's father, Albert Einstein, left Germany in 1933 to escape the virulently antisemitic nazi threat. Heeding his father's advice, Hans Albert emigrated from Switzerland to Greenville, South Carolina in 1938. He worked for the US Department of Agriculture, studying sedimentation transport from 1938 to 1943. He continued working for the USDA at the California Institute of Technology starting in 1943. In 1947 Hans Albert took a position as associate professor of hydraulic engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He continued his career advancing to full professor, and later professor emeritus. As an authority in his field, Hans Albert traveled the world to participate in hydraulic engineering conferences. He was at a symposium at Woods Hole in Massachusetts when he collapsed and died from a sudden cardiovascular event.

Hans Albert enjoyed life. He was an avid sailor, frequently taking colleagues and family out for excursions on the San Francisco Bay. On his many field trips and academic excursions, he took thousands of pictures, many of which he developed himself, and presented as slide shows. He also loved music, and played flute and piano.

[edit] Honors

In tribute to Einstein's life-long contributions to the field, his former graduate students published a book of research in his honor in 1972, Sedimentation: Symposium to Honor Professor H.A. Einstein.

The University of California also awarded him the title Professor of Hydraulic Engineering, Emeritus

In 1988, the American Society of Civil Engineers created the Hans Albert Einstein Award to recognize outstanding achievements in erosion control, sedimentation and/or waterway development.[1]

[edit] References

Inventory of the Hans Albert Einstein Papers, 1937-1972. Water Resources Center Archives, University of California Berkeley:[2]

Notes
Bibliography
  • "The bed-load function for sediment transportation in open channel flows", Einstein, H. A., United States Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 1026, Washington DC, 1950
  • H. A. Einstein, Hsieh Wen Shen, Sedimentation: symposium to honor H. A. Einstein, edited and published by Wen Shen Hsieh, University of California, 1972

[edit] External links


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