Hydraulicians

Many European engineers and scientists between the years 1800–2000 brought out significant contributions in the field of hydraulics. These individuals helped our knowledge of fluid science and hydraulic engineering, providing the basis for a plethora of advancements now embedded in infrastructure and technology. Several of these hydraulicians are spotlighted here, describing their backgrounds and accomplishments.

Walter Zuppinger (1814–1889)

Walter Zuppinger was a Swiss engineer and inventor who is best known for the Zuppinger water wheel. He was born in Männedorf, Switzerland, on June 21, 1814 and after apprenticing at Escher Wyss & Cie in Zurich–a firm that would become known for turbines and hydraulic machinery. In 1841, Zuppinger invented a tangential water wheel which was an early precursor to the Pelton turbine and his expertise in this area gave him influence over methods for water wheels and mill equipment. Later on he became the director of hydraulic machinery at Escher Wyss and also managed Escher Wyss branch in Ravensburg, Germany. The design of streamlined hydropower devices was largely based on the new hydraulic machines invented by Zuppinger, preventing loss in turbines.

Gotthilf Hagen (1797–1884)

Gotthilf Hagen was a civil engineer and physicist from Germany who derived the Hagen–Poiseuille equation for the laminar flow of incompressible fluids in pipes. Hagen was born on March 3, 1797 in Königsberg, Prussia and first studied mathematics and astronomy but later turned his attention to civil engineering. Exercising many governmental functions, since director of building in Königsberg and harbor building inspector in Pillau, respectively. Hagen played an important role in hydraulic engineering, and his work has had ramifications beyond fluid dynamics.

Pierre Koch (1895–1978)

Pierre Koch was a French civil engineer and professor of hydrology, specializing in water supply and wastewater disposal. He was born on September 18, 1895 in Saverne, France; graduated from the École Polytechnique and l'École des Ponts et Chaussées. Koch was editor of Water and Sanitation in Paris and professor at the École des Ponts et Chaussées. He co-founded the International Project Management Association, and wrote several books on sanitation and sewer networks. Koch has been a leading contributor in the evolution of urban water management.

Julius Lothar Meyer (1830-1895)

Julius Lothar Meyer In German chemist who played a key role in the development of the periodic table. Meyer, born on August 19, 1830 in Varel, Germany studied medicine and chemistry, obtaining his doctoral degree in 1858. He is famous for creating a periodic table of elements (similar to Dmitri Mendeleev's) on his own based on atomic weights and valence. Meyer built on earlier work showing the similarities and periodicity of the elements, but focused much more on making relationships that had a broad influence throughout chemistry.

Vincent Joseph Schaefer (1906 — 1993)

An American chemist/microbiologist, Vincent Joseph Schaefer was later a meteorologist and is best known for discovering the concept of cloud seeding. Schaefer, born July 4, 1906 in Schenectady, New York, worked as an assistant to Irving Langmuir at the General Electric Research Laboratory. He was the first to achieve cloud seeding with dry ice in 1946. Schaefer paved the way to the techniques used today in cloud seeding in meteorology.

Johannes Diderik van der Waals (1837–1923 )

Johannes Diderik van der Waals was a Dutch physicist known for his theoretical work on the equation of state for gases and liquids. He was born on 23 November 1837 in Leiden, Netherlands and he gave the van der Waals equation which considered finite size of molecules and intermolecular forces. For his work on thermodynamics, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1910, leading to great understanding of molecular forces.

These people are only a part of the numerous European hydraulicians whose studies between 1800 and 2000 have an important impact on hydraulic engineering and fluid mechanics. These innovations continue to underpin modern water management, infrastructure development and environmental engineering practices and technologies.