Hans Albert Einstein | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1904-05-14)May 14, 1904 Bern, Switzerland |
| Died | July 26, 1973(1973-07-26) (aged 69) Falmouth, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Citizenship | Switzerland(1904–1973) United States(1943–1973)[1] |
| Alma mater | ETH Zurich |
| Employer | University of California, Berkeley |
| Spouses | |
| Children | Bernhard Caesar Einstein Klaus Martin Einstein David Einstein Evelyn Einstein(adoptive) |
| Parent(s) | Albert Einstein(father) Mileva Marić(mother) |
| Relatives | Eduard Einstein(brother) Lieserl Einstein(sister) |
Hans Albert Einstein (May 14, 1904 – July 26, 1973) was a Swiss-American engineer, the second child and first son of physicistsAlbert Einstein andMileva Marić. He was a long-time professor ofhydraulic engineering at theUniversity of California, Berkeley.[2][3]
Einstein was widely recognized for his research onsediment transport.[4] To honor his outstanding achievement in hydraulic engineering, theAmerican Society of Civil Engineers established the "Hans Albert Einstein Award" in 1988 and the annual award is given to those who have made significant contributions to the field.[5][6]
Hans Albert Einstein was born on May 14, 1904, inBern, Switzerland, where his father, Albert Einstein, worked as a clerk in theSwiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property. His father was ofGerman-Jewish descent and his mother, Mileva Marić, Serbian. His younger brother,Eduard Einstein, was born in 1910 and died in 1965. In 1913, Hans and Eduard were baptized asOrthodox Christians in the Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas inNovi Sad.[7] The fate of his older sister,Lieserl Einstein, Albert Einstein's and Mileva Marić's first child, is unknown, although it has been suggested she died of scarlet fever in 1903.[8] Their parents divorced in 1919 after living apart for five years.[8]
In 1922, Hans followed in his parents' footsteps and enteredETH Zurich, where he studiedcivil engineering, graduating in 1926.[1] From 1926 to 1930 he worked at thesteel design company Klönne, inDortmund, Germany.[1] From 1931 to 1938, he worked as a research engineer at the newly founded Laboratory of Hydraulics and Soil Mechanics (VAWE) at ETH Zurich.[1] There, in 1936 Hans Albert obtained a doctorate in technical science. His doctoral thesis "Bed Load Transport as a Probability Problem" (Der Geschiebetrieb als Wahrscheinlichkeitsproblem) is considered the definitive work on sediment transport.[9]
Hans' father, Albert, left Germany in 1933 to escape the persecution of Jews by theNazi government. Heeding his father's advice, Hans emigrated from Switzerland toGreenville, South Carolina, in 1938. He worked for theUS Department of Agriculture, studying sediment transport from 1938 to 1943. He continued working for the USDA at theCalifornia Institute of Technology starting in 1943. In 1947 he took a position as associate professor ofhydraulic engineering at theUniversity of California, Berkeley. He advanced to full professor, and later professor emeritus. Einstein traveled the world to participate in hydraulic engineering conferences.[10]
Einstein was honored by aGuggenheim Fellowship (1953), research awards from theAmerican Society of Civil Engineers (1959 and 1960), the Berkeley Citation from theUniversity of California (1971), the Certificate of Merit from theU.S. Department of Agriculture (1971), and a certificate of recognition for more than 20 years of devoted and distinguished service toApplied Mechanics Reviews by theAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers (1972).[11]
Hans was also made a member ofPi Tau Sigma in December 1949 with honorary membership grade.
In 1958 he was the principal guest of honor at theTechnion's dedication of a new building housing the Albert Einstein Institute of Physics.[12]
Hans Albert Einstein collapsed and died of heart failure on July 26, 1973 while attending a symposium atWoods Hole, Massachusetts.[10] His papers are held at theWater Resources Collections and Archives in theUniversity of California, Riverside Libraries[13] and in theUniversity of Iowa Libraries Special Collections and Archives.[14]
In 1927, Hans Albert Einstein married Frieda Knecht (1895-1958).[1] They had four children:
Knecht died in 1958, and Hans Albert married neurochemistElizabeth Roboz (1904–1995) the following year.[1][20]
Einstein was an avid sailor, frequently taking colleagues and family out for excursions on theSan 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, as denoted on his gravestone, and he played flute and piano.[21]
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