Elmer Otto Bergman (January 21, 1892 - January 1973) was an American

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and

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at the

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and at C. F. Braun & Company, later KBR Inc. He served as the 83rd president of the

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 edu ...

in the year 1964–65.

Biography

Youth, education, and early career

Bergman was born in 1892 in

Kimball, Nebraska Kimball is a city in and the county seat of Kimball County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 2,290 at the 2020 census. History Kimball was originally called Antelopeville, and under the latter name was established ''circa'' 1870 wh ...

, the son of Andrew Bergman and Hannah (Sjoblom) Bergman. He graduated from Kimball High School in 1909. He started working as a teacher in the elementary schools, and served in the United States Navy for two years.Stanford University. ''Abstracts of Dissertations for the Degrees of Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Education,'' 1937. Volumes 13-16. p. 41. Next, Bergman started his studies at

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

in 1914, where he obtained his AB in 1920. He continued his studies at the

, where he obtained his BSc in 1925 and his MSc in 1926.John W. Leonard, Winfield Scott Downs, M. M. Lewis. ''Who's who in Engineering.'' Volume 8. 1959. p. 185 Bergman continued his studies University Colorado in Civil Engineering and obtained another AB magna cum laude and BSc with special honour in 1932. Last he continued at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, and obtained his Doctor of Philosophy in 1938 under

Stephen Timoshenko Stepan Prokopovich Timoshenko (, ; , ; – May 29, 1972), later known as Stephen Timoshenko, was a Ukrainian and later an American engineer and academician. He is considered to be the father of modern engineering mechanics. An inventor an ...

.ASME, "Bergman nominated for 63th president," in: ''Mechanical Engineering: The Journal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.'' 1963. p. 90.

Academic career, in industry and honours

Bergman had started his academic career at the

as instructor in 1924, was assistant professor from 1926 to 1932, and associate professor from 1932 to 1937. After his graduation at Stanford University in 1938 Bergman moved into the industry. He joined C. F. Braun & Company, in

Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from "Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately east from the downtown Los Angeles civic center. It was incorporated on July 11, 190 ...

, an engineering company, which designed petroleum and chemical processing facilities and was later acquired by KBR Inc. He started as Stress analyst, was chief research from 1940 to 1944, and staff consultant from 1944 to 1958.American Society of Civil Engineers. ''Year Book - American Society of Civil Engineers,'' Part 2. 1950. p. 53 In 1959 he became senior staff member at the National Engineering Science Companyin Pasadena. Berman was elected Fellow of the

, and served as its president in the year 1964–65.

Selected publications

* Elmer Otto Bergman. ''The Theory of Small Deflections of Rectangular Plates with Practical Applications.'' Leland Stanford junior university, 1938. * Herbert James Gilkey, Glenn Murphy, Elmer Otto Bergman. ''Materials Testing: Theory, Practice and Significance of Physical Tests on Engineering Materials.'' McGraw-Hill Book Company, Incorporated, 1941. * Elmer Otto Bergman. ''The ASME pressure vessel code: a joint effort for safe construction. Contributed for presentation at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers eighth Annual Petroleum Mechanical Engineering Conference, Houston, Texas ... September 29, 1953.'' Private press of C.F. Braun, 1953. ;Articles, a selection * Bergman, E. O. "The new-type code chart for the design of vessels under external pressure." TRANS. ASME 74 (1952): 647–054. * Bergman, E. O. "The design of vertical pressure vessels subjected to applied forces." ''Pressure Vessel and Piping Design: Collected Papers 1927-1959'' (1960). ;Patents, a selection * Bergman, Eugene O., Richard W. Hsieh, and John Geibel.
Apparatus for distributing gas and liquid during concurrent gas/liquid backwash in filter underdrain flumes
" U.S. Patent No. 6,312,611. 6 Nov. 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergman, Elmer Otto 1892 births 1973 deaths American civil engineers American mechanical engineers Creighton University alumni University of Colorado alumni Stanford University alumni University of Colorado faculty People from Kimball, Nebraska Presidents of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers 20th-century American engineers