Comfort Avery Adams (November 1, 1868 – February 21, 1958) was an American

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the ...

who as a student helped

Albert A. Michelson Albert Abraham Michelson FFRS HFRSE (surname pronunciation anglicized as "Michael-son", December 19, 1852 – May 9, 1931) was a German-born American physicist of Polish/Jewish origin, known for his work on measuring the speed of light and espe ...

with the

Michelson–Morley experiment The Michelson–Morley experiment was an attempt to detect the existence of the luminiferous aether, a supposed medium permeating space that was thought to be the carrier of light waves. The experiment was performed between April and July 1887 ...

(1887), which was later viewed as confirming the special relativity theory of

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...

(1905). He was a recipient of the

IEEE Edison Medal The IEEE Edison Medal is presented by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) "for a career of meritorious achievement in electrical science, electrical engineering, or the electrical arts." It is the oldest medal in this fi ...

and

AIEE Lamme Medal The initially called AIEE Lamme Medal was established in 1924 by the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) to recognize members for 'meritorious achievement in the development of electrical apparatus or machinery.' The medal was named i ...

Biography

Adams was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Comfort Avery Adams Sr. and Katherine Emily Peticolas on November 1, 1868. "Doc Adams", as he was commonly addressed by his colleagues and friends, received his Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from his alma mater,

Case School of Applied Science The Case School of Engineering is the engineering school at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. It traces its roots to the 1880 founding of the Case School of Applied Science. It became the Case Institute of Technology in 194 ...

, in 1925 after having been on the faculty at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

and dean of their engineering school for almost 35 years. He later received his second honorary doctorate from

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Ep ...

in 1939. By that time he had retired from Harvard. In terms of an all-around American engineer in the early 20th century, Comfort A. Adams comes the closest to being America's answer to Britain's I. K. Brunel. Adams was president of the

American Institute of Electrical Engineers The American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) was a United States-based organization of electrical engineers that existed from 1884 through 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) to form the Institut ...

and the

American Welding Society The American Welding Society (AWS) was founded in 1919 as a non-profit organization to advance the science, technology and application of welding and allied joining and cutting processes, including brazing, soldering and thermal spraying. Headqu ...

. He organized and chaired the Welding Research Council. Adams married Elizabeth Chassis Parsons in 1894, and they adopted two children. Adams died at his home in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

on February 21, 1958.

Honors and awards

*Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, ...

(1906) *Honorary Doctor of Engineering from

1925 *Honorary Doctor of Engineering from

(1939) * Lamme Medalist of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (1940) *IEEE Edison Medal (1956) *Delivered the first of the series of Adams Lectures founded in his honor by the American Welding Society *Samuel Wylie Miller Medal of the American Welding Society (first recipient) *Long-time member of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Committee, then Honorary Member *Honorary Member of the International Acetylene Association *Member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...

Memberships

*American Institute of Electrical Engineers *

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

American Standards Association The American National Standards Institute (ANSI ) is a private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. The organ ...

*American Engineering Council *

American Society for Metals ASM International, formerly known as the American Society for Metals, is an association of materials-centric engineers and scientists. ASM provides several information resources, including technical books, various digital databases, and ASM Han ...

American Society for Testing and Materials ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, a ...

*Society for Promotion of Engineering Education * American Physical Society * British Institute of Electrical Engineering * Verband Deutscher Electrotechniker *Société Française des Electriciens *

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

Tau Beta Pi The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a ...

Club memberships

*Harvard Faculty Club, Cambridge, Massachusetts *Engineers Club, New York *Engineers' Club of Philadelphia *Cedarbrook Country Club, Blue Bell, Pennsylvania

References

External links

BiographyNational Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Comfort A. 1868 births 1958 deaths American electrical engineers Scientists from Cleveland IEEE Edison Medal recipients Case Western Reserve University alumni Harvard College faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Presidents of the IEEE IEEE Lamme Medal recipients Engineers from Ohio