Comfort A. Adams
Encyclopedia
Comfort Avery Adams was an American electrical engineer who as a student helped Albert Michelson with the Michelson-Morley experiment
Michelson-Morley experiment
The Michelson–Morley experiment was performed in 1887 by Albert Michelson and Edward Morley at what is now Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Its results are generally considered to be the first strong evidence against the theory of a luminiferous ether and in favor of special...

 which confirmed the theory of Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...

. He was a recipient of the IEEE Edison Medal
IEEE Edison Medal
The Edison Medal is presented by the IEEE "for a career of meritorious achievement in electrical science, electrical engineering or the electrical arts." It is the oldest and most coveted medal in this field of engineering in the United States. The award consists of a gold medal, bronze replica,...

 and AIEE Lamme Medal.

Biography

"Doc Adams", as he was commonly addressed by his colleagues and friends, received his Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from his alma mater, Case School of Applied Science, in 1925 after having been on the faculty at Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...

 and dean of their engineering school for almost 35 years. He later received his second honorary doctorate from Lehigh University
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...

 in 1939. By that time he had retired from Harvard. In terms of an all-around American engineer in the early 20th century, Comfort A. Adams comes the closest to being America's answer to Britain's I. K. Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...

.

Adams was president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers
American Institute of Electrical Engineers
The American Institute of Electrical Engineers was a United States based organization of electrical engineers that existed between 1884 and 1963, when it merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers to form the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers .- History :The 1884 founders of the...

 and the American Welding Society
American Welding Society
The American Welding Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the science, technology, and application of welding and allied joining and cutting processes, including brazing, soldering, and thermal spraying...

. He organized and chaired the Welding Research Council.

Honors and awards

  • Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
    American Academy of Arts and Sciences
    The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...

     (1906)
  • Honorary Doctor of Engineering from Case School of Applied Science 1925
  • Honorary Doctor of Engineering from Lehigh University
    Lehigh University
    Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...

     (1939)
  • Lamme Medalist of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (1940)
  • IEEE Edison Medal (1956)
  • Delivered the first of the series of Adams Lectures founded in his honor by the American Welding Society
  • Samuel Wylie Miller Medal of the American Welding Society (first recipient)
  • Long-time member of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Committee, then Honorary Member
  • Honorary Member of the International Acetylene Association
  • Member of the National Academy of Sciences
    United States National Academy of Sciences
    The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...


Memberships

  • American Institute of Electrical Engineers
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers
    American Society of Mechanical Engineers
    The American Society of Mechanical Engineers is a professional body, specifically an engineering society, focused on mechanical engineering....

  • American Society of Civil Engineers
    American Society of Civil Engineers
    The American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...

  • American Standards Association
    Ansi
    Ansi is a village in Kaarma Parish, Saare County, on the island of Saaremaa, Estonia....

  • American Engineering Council
  • American Society for Metals
  • American Society for Testing and Materials
    ASTM International
    ASTM International, known until 2001 as the American Society for Testing and Materials , is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services...

  • Society for Promotion of Engineering Education
  • American Physical Society
    American Physical Society
    The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...

  • British Institute of Electrical Engineering
  • Verband Deutscher Electrotechniker
  • Société Française des Electriciens
  • Sigma Xi
    Sigma Xi
    Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society is a non-profit honor society which was founded in 1886 at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a handful of graduate students. Members elect others on the basis of their research achievements or potential...

  • Tau Beta Pi
    Tau Beta Pi
    The Tau Beta Pi Association is the oldest engineering honor society in the United States and the second oldest collegiate honor society in America. It honors engineering students who have shown a history of academic achievement as well as a commitment to personal and professional integrity...


Club memberships

  • Harvard Faculty Club, Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • Engineers Club, New York
  • Engineers' Club of Philadelphia
  • Cedarbrook Country Club, Blue Bell, Pennsylvania

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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