Inr. J. Heur Muss Trur%sj?r Vol. 22. pp 1467-1468
Pergamon Press Ltd. 1979. Printed in Great Britam

E. R. C. ECKERTON THE OCCASION OF HIS SEVENTY-FIFTH BIRTHDAY

THIS ISSUEis dedicated to the seventy-fifth birthday ofProfessor E. R. G. Eckert. Professor Eckert occupies a
unique position among researchers in the field of heattransfer. His active professional career has spanned
five decades, and more than any other person, he has
influenced the emergence of the modern science of heattransfer.
His impacts have taken several forms. As a rssearcher, his work has delved into almost aIt aspects ofheat transfer, as well as into many related phenomena.
His approach, which is characterized by a searchfor understandingof fundamental processes, has
now become standard practice in all heat transfer
research. His textbooks have served as beacons inwhich complex phenomena have been described intheir essential terms and in a manner so clear as tomake them understandable
to all. His first book,~~ltrod~ct~onto the Transfer of Heat and Mass, led theway to a new era of textbooks where understanding ofphenomena was given at least equal place with empiricism. His last book, Analysis of Heat and Mass
Transfer, is a rich legacy filled with deep insights.
As a teacher, Professor Eckert demonstrated that hecould verbalize with a clarity equal to that whichcharacterizes his books. His impact on the thinking ofothers, both students and faculty colleagues, has beenenormous. Intertwined with all of this professional
brilliance is a sense of humanity and concern forothers. That, too, has had profound a~rmative
impacts.

1468

E. M. SPARROW

Professor Eckert was born on 13 September 1904, inPrague, Czechoslovakia.
He attended the German
Instituteof Technologyin Prague, obtaining
theDiploma Ingenieur in 1927 and the Dr. Ing. in 193 1. Heremained at Pragueas an assistant in the Institute until
1935 when he moved to Danzig where he completed
his habilitation
under Professor Ernst Schmidt. In
1938 Dr. Eckert followed Professor Schmidt to Braunschweig where he assumed the post of docent at theInstituteof Technology
and section chief at theAeronautical
Research Establishment.
In 1943, hereturned to Prague to accept the Chair of Thermodynamics at the German Institute of Technology
butretained his position at the AeronauticalResearchInstitute. He served in both capacities until the end ofthe war.
Professor Eckert came to the United States in 1945
and for the next four years was associated with thePower Plant Laboratory
at Wright Air Force Base,Dayton, Ohio. In 1949 he joined Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratoryof the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
in Cleveland,Ohio, as aconsultant to the Compressor
and Turbine Division.
In 1951 Dr. Eckert returned to the academic life ofteaching, research and writing at the University ofMinnesota as Professor of Mechanical Engineering. In1955 he was named Director of the Thermodynamics

and Heat Transfer Division and the Heat TransferLaboratory.
In 1966 the University
bestoweditshighest honor on Dr. Eckert by naming him Regents’Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Since 1972, hehas continued his research at the University of Minnesota as an emeritus
professor.
Here, Professor
Eckert has received numerous honors and awards inrecognitionof his outstanding
professional
achievements. These include honorary doctorates
from theTechnische Hochschiile in Munich, from Purdue University and from the University of Manchester;aGold Medal from the Institute of Energy and Combustion in Paris; and the Max Jakob award, thehighest recognition in the field of heat transfer.
Dr. Eckert has always recognized that cooperation
among scientists on the world scale contributes
tointernational
understanding.
He played a leading rolein the establishmentof this Journal and has been
Chairman of the Honorary Editorial Advisory Board
from its beginning. His colleagues at Minnesota joinwith the editors of this journal and with his manyfriends throughout
the world in wishing Professor
Eckert a happy and healthy seventy-fifth birthday andmany returns of the day.

University of Minnesota

E. M. SPARROW