Reissner, Hans

Civil engineer born in Berlin, Germany, and educated at Berlin University under the tutelage of the physicist Max Planck. Reissner's early research was in the area of structural mechanics. His 1902 dissertation on vibrations of framed structures earned him one of the first doctorates in engineering. In 1908 Reissner became interested in aeronautics and went on to publish a ground-breaking article entitled "Wissenschaftliche Fragen aus der Flugtechnik." During World War I, Reissner assisted in developing the Staaken four-engine bomber and designed the first controllable-pitch propeller. In 1938 Reissner moved his family from Germany to the United States to escape the pre-war turmoil. He taught at the Illinois Institute of Technology from 1938-1944 and, from 1944-1954, at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. Hans Reissner is the father of Erich Reissner, an MIT graduate renowned in the field of structural mechanics. Hans Reissner died in 1967.

Biography

Hans Jacob Reissner was born on January 18, 1874, in Berlin, Germany. He earned a degree in civil engineering from Berlin's Technische Hochschule in 1897, then spent a year in the United States working as a structural draftsman. Reissner returned to Germany to study physics with Max Planck at Berlin University. In 1900 he changed direction and attended the Technische Hochschule, where he studied under Heinrich Mueller-Breslau and completed one of the first engineering doctorates in 1902. His dissertation was on vibrations of framed structures. Reissner joined the faculty at Berlin's Technische Hochschule, but he also worked on outside projects, including structural analysis for Count Zeppelin. In 1904, he was awarded a fellowship to study the use of iron in construction in the United States.

In 1906, Reissner returned to Germany and was appointed professor of mechanics at the Technische Hochschule in Aachen. Up until this time his research had dealt with topics at the intersections of mechanics and physics, but his attention now focused upon the new field of aviation. By 1908 he was familiar enough with the basic areas of aircraft stability, control and propulsion to deliver a seminal paper published as "Wissenschafliche Fragen aus der Flugtechnik," the first of many articles on these topics. Hugo Junkers, also on the faculty at Aachen, and Reissner designed and constructed the first successful all-metal and tail-first airplane, the "Ente."

After seven years in Aachen Reissner was invited to return to Berlin's Technische Hochschule in 1913 as professor of mathematics in the civil engineering department. During World War I he was responsible for the structural analysis of the Staaken four-engine bomber and designed the first controllable-pitch propellers for this aircraft. He was awarded the Iron Cross for civilians for his work.

In 1938, Reissner immigrated to the United States, where he taught first at the Illinois Institute of Technology (1938-1944) and then at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (1944-1954). For his seventy-fifth birthday in 1949 he was honored with the presentation of a festschrift, the REISSNER ANNIVERSARY VOLUME, at a dinner in New York.

Reissner retired from professional life in 1954 and died in 1967.