Burgers, J. M. (Johannes Martinus), 1895-

Burgers (1895-1981). Physicist (fluid dynamics, theory of turbulence, viscosity of suspensions). Major affiliations Include: Technische Hogeschool te Delft, Delft, Netherlands, 1918-1955; and University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA, 1955-1965.

Physicist (fluid dynamics, theory of turbulence, viscosity of suspensions). Major affiliations include: technische Hodeschool te Delft, Delft, Netherlands, 1918-1975; and University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA, 1975-. He died in 1981.

Burgers was an author and professor of fluid dynamics at the University of Maryland College Park.

He was a leading authority on fluid dynamics and worked extensively on the theory of turbulence, exploring what is now known as the Burgers equation. He also wrote fundamental papers on the intrinsic viscosity of suspensions.

Johannes Martinus Burgers was born in Arnhem (Netherlands) on January 13, 1895, the eldest son of Joanna Hendrika Romijn and Johannes Martinus Burgers. Both Johannes and his younger brother, Wilhelm (who later became a professor at the Technical University of Delft), attended primary and secondary school in Arnhem. Johannes completed his secondary schooling in 1912 and for the next two years took supplementary courses in Latin and Greek, while continuing his studies in higher mathematics and aspects of theoretical physics. He attended the University of Leiden from 1914 until 1917, passing his "candidates examen" in 1915 and his "doctoral examen" in 1917. Burgers became a Doctor of Mathematical and Physical Sciences in 1918; his thesis was "Het Atoommodel van Rugherford-Bohr" (The Model of the Atom according to Rutherford and Bohr).

Burgers' first position was Conservator at the Physical Laboratory of Teyler's Foundation (Teyler's Stichting) in Haarlem. From September 1918 until October 1955, Dr. Burgers was professor of Aerodynamics and Hydrodynamics at the Technical University of Delft. He was also secretary of the Department of Mechanical Enfineering and Shipbuilding from 1921 to 1924 and its chairman from 1929 until 1931. In this position, Burgers became acquainted with Theodore von Karman, L. Prandt, R. von Mises, G.I. Taylor and W.F. Durand, as well as maintaining contact with the most influential individual of his university career, Paul Ehrenfest. It was during this period at Delft that he became a leading authority on fluid dynamics. He worked extensively on the theory of turbulence and explored what is now known as the Burgers equation. He also wrote fundamental papers on the intrinsic viscosity of suspensions.

Resigning in 1955, Burgers and his wife, Anna, immigrated to the United States and settled in Maryland. Johannes had accepted the position of research professor at the Institute for Physical Dynamics and Applied Mathematics (now the institute for Physical Science and Technology) at the University of Maryland's College Park Campus. Burgers continued his interest in fluid dynamics while at the University, and was recognized for his studies in gas dynamics, plasma physics, shock waves, and related phenomena. Still active in his field, Burgers retired from the University of Maryland in 1965.

A member of more than twenty scientific societies, author of numerous articles and reviews, and recipient of two honorary degrees from the Universite Libre de Bruxelles (1948) and the Universite de Poitiers (1950), Burgers also received the Modesto Panetti Medal and Prize from the Accademia delle Scienze di Turino in 1961.

After his retirement, Burgers continued to maintain his considerable correspondence, attended scientific conferences and congresses and wrote two texts, Experience and Conceptual Activity and Flow Equations for Composite Gases. Deeply interested in philosophical ideas as well as scientific ones, he studied such fundamental issues as the influence of science upon society, the structure of the universe, and the origin and proper description of life. Johannes Burgers died in 1981 at the age of eighty-six, well-recognized in his field both as an author and professor. The Burgers Program for Fluid Dynamics, which is supported by faculty from the College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences and the A.J. Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, was created to provide an environment and precedence for knowledge exchange and networking within the fluid dynamics community on the University of Maryland campus. This program maintains a close collaboration with the J.M. Burgers Centre in The Netherlands.

Burgers, Johannes Martinus (Jan) (1895-1981). Studeerde in Leiden wis- en natuurkunde; hoogleraar aan de Technische Hogeschool in Delft; werd lid van de CPN, waarvoor hij in 1933 bedankte; bezocht in 1929 en 1936 de Sovjetunie, waar hij colleges gaf; vanaf 1955 hoogleraar in de Verenigde Staten van Amerika.