SARGENT

SARGENT 29.09. 1872 Escanaba MI/USA 20.04. 1939 New York/USA Joseph Andrews Sargent obtained the BSc degree in civil engineering in 1903 from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln NE, after having served during the Spanish-American War. He then joined the US Reclamation Service, where he was engaged on the design of the irrigation system of the Uncompahgre Project in Colorado. He returned in 1906 to Cuba as chief engineer, but came back to his country after the 1906 revolution. From 1909 to 1913 he had an engineering practice, dealing with irrigation projects in the West, followed by an engagement on the design of Medina Dam TX. In 1913 he was sent to Spain for a hydro-electric development near Barcelona, serving as chief engineer at Seros on Rio Segre and at Tremp on the Rio Noguera Pallaresa. The Seros development represented then the largest dam in Europe with a long, concrete-lined power canal. After war service, Sargent was employed as consultant on hydraulic developments in Spain and Poland, returning to New York in 1920. His company obtained a contract with the Brazilian Government for the construction of five dams in the Ceara and Parahiba States, so that he was transferred in 1921, yet none of the dams was completed because of missing finances. In 1924 he made hydraulic studies for Poland, and in 1926 he had charge of irrigation exploration in Durango State, Mexico. In 1928 he joined a Brazilian hydro-power company, in charge of the power supply to Curityba. Although there were no flow records, no adequate maps, no roads in the heavily forested area, Sargent made his final selection at Rio Sao Joao, later known as Chamine. On completion of this work, he returned to New York in 1930. In 1936 he became supervising engineer of the Public Works Administration. Overall, Sargent’s professional career was manifold. With a long and varied experience and a retentive memory, he was valuable in reporting on various phases of construction programs. He was described as being the product of an era having ended after World War I, when the use of the laboratory was replacing the judgment based on broad knowledge of engineering fundamentals. Sargent was member of the American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE since 1930. Anonymous (1941). Joseph A. Sargent. Trans. ASCE 106: 1667-1871. Sargent, J.A. (1910). Discussion of Water purification at Steelton PA. Trans. ASCE 66: 209-210. Stevens, J.C. (1914). Seros Power Development, Lerida, Spain: Diversion dam and canals. Engineering News 72(Sep.03): 473-478; 72(Sep.10): 536-539. https://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nelancas/ww1/2.htm P

SAUNDERS 29.11. 1890 Washington DC/USA 11.11. 1961 Washington DC/USA Harold Eugene Saunders obtained the BS degree in 1912 from the US Naval Academy, the MS degree in 1916 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT, Cambridge MA, and the honorary ScD degree from Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken NJ. He was from 1912 commander ensign of the US Navy, advanced then through all grades to captain in 1939, and was from 1921 to 1924 in charge of submarine design at the Bureau of Construction and Repair, Washington DC, from where he proceeded to the US Navy Yard, Portsmouth NH. From 1929 to 1933 he was a model tester and engaged in fullscale ship trials at the Experimental Model Basin EMB, Washington DC, and was then in charge of the final designs at the Bureau of Construction and Repair until 1936. From 1937 to 1946 Saunders was technical director of the David Taylor Model Basin TMB, taking over as the director the following year. He was a member of the International Conference of Ship Tank Superintendents, and the American Towing Tank Conference. He was highly decorated with awards, including for instance the Legion of Merit, or the David W. Taylor Gold Medal. In addition to the extensive ship model shops at EMB, its principal features were the three towing tanks, including one shallow of length, width and depth of 90×15×3 m, one of 300×15×7 m, and one for high speed of 340×6×3 m. The second and the third were so long that their tracks were but curved with the earth’s surface. In 1940 the 12-in. and the 27-in. water tunnels for propeller testing, built at EMB respectively in 1930 and 1937, were moved to the new establishment TMB. Next, plans were initiated for a huge recirculating channel permitting models to be held stationary in water flow. A particular problem was the effect of free surface slope on the measurement of model drag, and possible means of minimizing this error. It was found that proper manipulation of flow depth and bed slope produce a level surface in the model vicinity. Anonymous (1968). Saunders, Harold E. Who was who in America 4: 829. Marquis: Chicago. Rouse, H. (1976). Harold E. Saunders. Hydraulics in the United States 1776-1976: 145-146. IIHR: Iowa. P Saunders, H.E. (1933). The prediction of speed and power of ships by methods in use at the US Experimental Model Basin, Washington. Navy Bureau of Construction and Repair. Government Printing Office: Washington DC. Saunders, H.E. (1957). Hydrodynamics in ship design. SNAME: New York.