FOSTER

FOSTER 20.09. 1891 Geneva NY/USA 13.12. 1963 New York NY/USA Henry Alden Foster obtained in 1913 the BS degree in civil engineering from the University of Arizona, Tucson AZ, and the civil engineering degree in 1916 from Cornell University, Ithaca NY. He was then a draftsman for a company at Newark NJ and served from 1917 to 1919 in the US Army. From 1919 to 1925 he was assistant engineer for an engineering company in New York City, joining then until 1933 as associate engineer on the New York Water Power Investigations the firm Parsons, Klapp, Brinkerhoff & Douglas, New York NY. He made in 1934 a study on flood frequencies for the US Geological Survey USGS, and continued as associate engineer with the New York firm. From 1936 to 1938, now as research engineer, he conducted another study on hydro-electricity and water storage projects of the North Platte Basin in Nebraska. He continued work with Parsons, Klapp, Brinkerhoff & MacDonald until 1947 in various positions, and he was appointed in 1947 principal associate. From 1949 until 1957 he was in parallel adjunct professor of hydrology at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. Foster was member of the American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE, and the American Geophysical Union AGU. He was awarded the Fuertes Gold Medal in 1924 from Cornell University. Foster suggested in 1924 that a previous work on extrapolation of theoretical frequency curves could be improved by using historical hydrological data. He applied the various curves proposed for this analysis, stating that the problem was to determine the form of curves resulting in the most logical representation of the original series. The 1945 paper deals with the use of flow nets for potential flows to construct solutions in engineering hydraulics. The examples discussed include ditches, dikes, dams and other engineering structures. Shortly before his death he conducted studies of improvements for Panama Canal including the possibility of converting it to a sea-level canal. Foster’s death was caused by an accident with a car while crossing a street in South Orange NY. Anonymous (1959). Foster, Henry A. Who’s who in engineering 8: 819-820. Lewis: New York. Anonymous (1964). Henry Alden Foster. Princeton Alumni Weekly 64(15): 15. Foster, H.A. (1924). Theoretical frequency curves and their application to engineering problems. Trans. ASCE 87: 142-173. Foster, H.A. (1939). Standing waves in spillway chutes. Civil Engineering 9(8): 499. (P) Foster, H.A., Howe, J.W., Jarvis, C.S. (1945). Construction of the flow net for hydraulic design. Trans. ASCE 110: 1237-1252. (P)

FRANCIS C. 10.08. 1842 Lowell MA/USA 29.04. 1914 Davenport IA/USA Charles Francis was the third son of James Bicheno Francis (1815-1892), one of the most famous US hydraulic engineers. Charles entered in 1860 Harvard University, graduating after war service in 1864. He remained for some time at Lowell MA, learning the trade of machinist, as a preliminary to following his father’s profession as a hydraulic engineer. He was assistant to his father on the Turner Falls Dam across Connecticut River, and the Provincetown MA Dike. In 1871 he went to California where he was engaged in hydraulic mining operations for 9 years. In 1880 he was with the engineering staff of the Mexican Central Railroad in Mexico. In 1883 he returned to Lowell, being associated with his father until 1889. Charles Francis then went to Davenport IA as engineer in charge of the construction of Rock Island Dam for the US Government Arsenal at Rock Island IA. After completion of this work he continued to make Davenport his home, carrying on private practice as an engineer and contractor. He was for 7 years member of the State Board of Health, and he also served for two years as commissioner of Public Works, Davenport IA. Francis was member of the American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE. The first inward-discharge reaction wheel was patented in 1838. James B. Francis in 1848 made its redesign building the center-vent wheel with an efficiency of almost 80%. This design was the foundation on which the modern wheel was developed. An account on most of Francis’ experimental work is contained in the 1871 book, marking the start of a new era in the literature of hydraulic engineering, and was recognized as a standard authority for a long time. Previously, in 1852, Francis refined the use of tube-shaped floats, weighted at one end to ride vertically and thus provide a measure of the average velocity along a vertical element in a stream. This scheme required correction factors, and therefore another set of accurate measurements of discharge, using weirs. Therefore large weirs up to 3 m wide were used, resulting in the Francis weir formula, which was used up to the early 20th century. During his stay at the Lowell Hydraulic Laboratory, Charles Francis was involved in these developments, thereby contributing to his father’s work. Once the father retired from the Laboratory, Charles was not enough engaged in the future of hydraulic developments, assuming other responsibilities. Anonymous (1914). Charles Francis. Engineering News 71(19): 1051-1052. Anonymous (1937). The center-vent Francis wheel. Civil Engineering 7(2): 142-143. (P) Francis, J.B. (1871). Lowell hydraulic experiments. Van Nostrand: New York.