RIDGWAY

RIDGWAY 19.10. 1862 New York NY/USA 19.12. 1938 Fort Wayne IN/USA Robert Ridgway never made studies beyond primary school. After work with several railroad companies, he was engaged in 1884 at Tarrytown NY on the building of the second aqueduct of the Croton water shed, meeting Alfred Craven (1846-1926) or Charles S. Gowen (1851-1909). The aqueduct alignment was fixed between Harlem River and Old Croton Dam, with Ridgway in charge of it. The aqueduct tunnel was driven from shafts 1.5 km apart; their sinking was on the division in which he was leveller. The New Croton Aqueduct was taken in service in 1890; Ridgway was thus sent to Purdy’s Station NY, on the construction of Titicus Dam of the Croton System. Upon dam completion, he was transferred to New York City, to supervise the construction of the Jerome Park Reservoir. In 1905 Ridgway was promoted to division engineer for the construction of the Catskill Aqueduct, under J. Waldo Smith (1861-1933). A large portion of this project was in a tunnel, following in the upper reach the hydraulic grade, while it was below it in the lower reach, notably below Hudson River. The conception and construction of this work for impounding Catskill and conveying the water to the city was monumental, of which Ridgway had a major part in it. From 1912 to 1918 he was engaged in New York’s Rapid Transit Company as chief engineer. He stayed with the City until his retirement in 1932, becoming then consultant. In total, his journey with the city thus lasted 49 years. In 1929 he was sent to the World Engineering Congress in Tokyo, Japan, there representing the USA. He spent three months in the Orient, enjoying Japanese hospitality and the honour of the Emperor, who conferred on him the Order of the Rising Sun. Several American institutions recognized Ridgway’s ability honouring him with awards. He was member of many societies, and Honorary Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE, serving as its director, vice-president, and president in 1925. The Robert Ridgway Award was established in 1965, which is presented annually to the top student ASCE Chapter of the USA. Anonymous (1940). Robert Ridgway. Little & Ives: New York. P Anonymous (1941). Robert Ridgway. Trans. ASCE 106: 1527-1538. Diehl, G., Ridgway, R. (1938). The consulting engineer. American Inst. Consulting Engineers: NY. Ridgway, R. (1938). My days of apprenticeship. Civil Engineering 8(9): 601-604. P https://images.nycsubway.org/articles/engnewsdc0020.jpg. P https://www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/DNAQUE.Html

RIEGEL 31.10. 1881 Harrisburg PA/USA 20.07. 1966 Erie PA/USA Ross Milton Riegel received education from Cornell University, Ithaca NY, from where he obtained the civil engineering degree in 1904. He was engaged then until 1912 with various engineering positions, joined as a water power engineer the Water Supply Commission of Pennsylvania WSCP until 1914, and then until 1920 the Miami Conservancy District as design engineer. He was hydraulic engineer with the West Pennsylvania Power Company, Pittsburgh PA, until 1926, then until 1933 was design engineer with the Pittsburgh Department of Public Works, joining then as head civil engineer the design department of the Tennessee Valley Authority TVA, Knoxville TN. Riegel was awarded the 1948 ASCE James Laurie Prize for the 1946 paper. Riegel is known for his hydraulic works toward the Miami Conservancy District. He and his colleague John Cleaveland Beebe (1887-1954) were among the first to study hydraulic jumps from various aspects. They investigated the sequent depth ratio for relatively large approach flow Froude numbers, determining the most important length characteristics, the flow characteristics in expanding channels with a hydraulic jump, observing instability features, and proposing engineering means to improve these disadvantages. Later in his career, Riegel took interest in dam engineering describing hydraulic structures from the constructional point of view, providing recommendations on the optimum instrumentation for dam safety. He also discussed the then particular features of rock-fill dams, a technique that was mainly developed after World War II. Anonymous (1937). Riegel, Ross M. Who’s who in engineering 4: 1154. Lewis: New York. Anonymous (1948). Ross M. Riegel. Civil Engineering 18(1): 45-47. P Anonymous (1990). Miami, Ohio, Conservancy District. SIA Newsletter 19(1): 3. Blee, C.E., Riegel, R.M. (1948). Methods and instruments for the measurement of performance of concrete dams of the TVA. 3rd ICOLD Congress Stockholm Q8(R45): 1-23. Blee, C.E., Riegel, R.M. (1951). Rock fill dams. 4th ICOLD Congress New Delhi Q13(R22): 189-208. Riegel, R.M. (1910). Paxton Creek flood controlling works, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Engineering News 63(7): 196-199. Riegel, R.M., Beebe, J.C. (1917). Theory of the hydraulic jump as a means of dissipating energy. Technical Report 3. State of Ohio, The Miami Conservancy District: Dayton OH. Riegel, R.M. (1946). Design developments: Structures of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Trans. ASCE 111: 1160-1174.