Hermann Schlichting was a German

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 fluid dynamics

Fluid dynamics

In physics, fluid dynamics is a sub-discipline of fluid mechanics that deals with fluid flow—the natural science of fluids in motion. It has several subdisciplines itself, including aerodynamics and hydrodynamics...

 engineer

Engineer

An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...

.

Life and work

Hermann Schlichting studied from 1926 till 1930 mathematics, physics and applied mechanics at the University of Jena, Vienne

University of Vienna

The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...

 and Göttingen. In 1930 he wrote his PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 in Göttingen titled Über das ebene Windschattenproblem and also in the same year passed the state examination as teacher for higher mathematics and physics. His meeting with Ludwig Prandtl had a long lasting effect on him. He worked from 1931 till 1935 at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute

Kaiser Wilhelm Institute

The Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Advancement of Science was a German scientific institution established in 1911. It was implicated in Nazi science, and after the Second World War was wound up and its functions replaced by the Max Planck Society...

 for Flow Research in Göttingen

Göttingen

Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...

. His main research area was fluid flows with viscous effects. Simultaneously he also started working on airfoil

Airfoil

An airfoil or aerofoil is the shape of a wing or blade or sail as seen in cross-section....

 aerodynamics

Aerodynamics

Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...

. In 1935 Schlichting went to Dornier

Dornier

Dornier may refer to:* Claudius Dornier , German aircraft designer and builder** Dornier Flugzeugwerke, German aircraft manufacturer founded in 1914 by Claudius Dornier* Dornier Consulting, international consulting and project management company...

 in Friedrichshafen

Friedrichshafen

This article is about a German town. For the Danish town, see Frederikshavn, and for the Finnish town, see Fredrikshamn .Friedrichshafen is a university city on the northern side of Lake Constance in Southern Germany, near the borders with Switzerland and Austria.It is the district capital of the...

. There he did the planning for the new wind tunnel

Wind tunnel

A wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.-Theory of operation:Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles in free flight...

 and after short construction time took charge over it. With it he gained useful experience in the field of aerodynamics. At the age of 30 in 1937 he joined Technische Universität Braunschweig

Technische Universität Braunschweig

The TU Braunschweig is the oldest University of Technology in Germany. It was founded in 1745 as Collegium Carolinum and is a member of TU9, an incorporated society of the most renowned and largest German Institutes of Technology. Today it has about 13,000 students, making it the third largest...

, where in 1938 he became a professor.

After joining in October 1937 Schlichting worked on setting up the Aerodynamic Institute at the Braunschweig-Waggum airport.

The transition from laminar to turbulence results in Tollmien–Schlichting waves named after him.

Prof. Schlichting became an emeritus professor in 30 September 1975 at TU Braunschweig.

Achievements

1953 Medal "50th Anniversary of Powered Flight“ from National Aeronautical Association, Washington D.C.

1968 Dr.-Ing. E.h. at Technical University Munich

1969 Ludwig-Prandtl-Ring from Deutschen Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DGLR)

1972 Bundesverdienstkreuz

Bundesverdienstkreuz

The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has existed since 7 September 1951, and between 3,000 and 5,200 awards are given every year across all classes...

1976 Honorary member of Deutschen Forschungs- und Versuchsanstalt für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DFVLR)

1980 "Von-Kármán-Medaille“ from Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development (AGARD

AGARD

The acronym AGARD stands for Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development, and was an agency of NATO that existed from 1952 to 1996....

), Paris

Books

• Hermann Schlichting, Erich Truckenbrodt: Aerodynamik des Flugzeugs Springer, Berlin 1967
• Hermann Schlichting, Klaus Gersten, Boundary Layer Theory, 8th ed. Springer-Verlag 2004, ISBN 81-8128-121-7
• Hermann Schlichting, Klaus Gersten, Egon Krause, Herbert, jun. Oertel: Grenzschicht-Theorie Springer, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-540-23004-1