Clemens Herschel

Clemens Herschel (March 23, 1842 – March 1, 1930) was an American hydraulic engineer. His career extended from about 1860 to 1930, and he is best known for inventing the Venturi meter, which was the first large-scale, accurate device for measuring water flow. He developed this device while serving as director of the Holyoke Testing Flume, a turbine testing facility which he would redesign, which became the first modern hydraulics laboratory in the United States and the world.

Early life and education

Clemens was born in Vienna on March 23, 1842. His family immigrated to Davenport, Iowa, in 1850. He spent most of his life practicing his profession in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey. He attended Harvard University, where he received his bachelor of science degree in 1860 from the Lawrence Scientific School. After Harvard, he completed post-graduate studies in France and Germany.

Career

The first part of Herschel's career was devoted to bridge design, including the design of cast-iron bridges. For a time, he was employed on the sewerage system of Boston. The original purpose of the Venturi meter was to measure the amount of water used by the individual water mills in the Holyoke area. A flow of air through a venturi meter, showing the columns connected in a U-shape (a manometer) and partially filled with water. The meter is "read" as a differential pressure head in cm or inches of water. Water supply development in northern New Jersey was an active area of investment in the late 19th century. In 1889, Herschel was hired as the manager and superintendent of the East Jersey Water Company, where he worked until 1900.

After 1900 and lasting until the end of his life, Herschel was a consulting hydraulic engineer with offices in New York City. He worked on some of the major water development projects in the world. He played a major part in the construction of the hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls, which was the first large-scale electric power plant. He was appointed to an expert committee that reviewed the plans for the first water tunnel that would deliver water from the Catskill reservoirs to New York City. Herschel's first wife, Grace Hobart, died in 1898.

Professional associations

Herschel was active in several professional organizations including the American Water Works Association and the New England Water Works Association. He was a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in London, and he was elected president of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1916. Herschel was awarded the Elliott Cresson medal in 1889 by the Franklin Institute for his development of the Venturi water meter. He was made an Honorary Member of ASCE in 1922.

The Clemens Herschel Prize was established at Harvard University in 1929. The award is given to meritorious students in practical hydraulics. Each year, the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section presents the Clemens Herschel Award to authors "…who have published papers that have been useful, commendable, and worthy of grateful acknowledgment."

Publications

Perhaps Herschel's most well-known publication was not a strictly technical book. While traveling in Italy in 1898, he was allowed to make a photographic copy of a manuscript of de Aquaeductu Urbis Romae by Sextus Julius Frontinus, who had been chief administrator of the water supply system of ancient Rome.

Some of his other publications include:

Herschel, Clemens (1897) 115 Experiments on the Carrying Capacity of Large, Riveted, Metal Conduits, up to Six Feet per Second of Velocity of Flow New York:Wiley Herschel, Clemens (1898) Measuring Water Providence, RI:Builders Iron Foundry Herschel, Clemens (1899) The Venturi Water Meter Reprinted from Cassier's Magazine