Henk Dorgelo
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Hendrik Berend Dorgelo (9 February 1894 in
Dedemsvaart Dedemsvaart ("Dedem's Canal") (Dutch Low Saxon: ''De Voart'') is a town in Overijssel, the Netherlands. Overview The town is located along an old canal, also called , which is the source of the village's name. The canal lost its commercial impo ...
– 6 March 1961 in
Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...
) was a Dutch
physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
and
academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
. He was the first
rector magnificus A rector (Latin for 'ruler') is a senior official in an educational institution, and can refer to an official in either a university or a secondary school. Outside the English-speaking world, the rector is often the most senior official in a u ...
of the Technische Hogeschool Eindhoven.


Biography

Henk Dorgelo originally attended teachers' training college (Dutch: ''kweekschool'') and became a teacher. He was drafted during World War I and did his state exams while serving as an
officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
. Now able to attend university, he decided to study
mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
and
physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
at the
University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of 39,769 students, a ...
. Following his propaedeuse in 1919, he combined study, work as a teacher at the Christelijk Gymnasium Utrecht and an internship in the laboratory of
Leonard Ornstein Leonard Salomon Ornstein (12 November 1880 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands – 20 May 1941 in Utrecht (city), Utrecht, the Netherlands) was a Dutch physicist. Biography Ornstein studied theoretical physics with Hendrik Lorentz, Hendrik Anto ...
. He earned his Ph.D. in physics in 1924, writing a
thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...
on gas discharge physics. The relationship of this work to the production of
radio tube A vacuum tube, electron tube, thermionic valve (British usage), or tube (North America) is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric potential difference has been applied. It takes th ...
s got him a job at Philips' NatLab in
Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...
. In 1925 he married a former pupil of his, Hermina Anna Plomp. Together they had four boys and three daughters. In 1927 Dorgelo was appointed professor at
Delft University of Technology The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft; ) is the oldest and largest Dutch public university, public Institute of technology, technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. It specializes in engineering, technology, computing, design, a ...
, in order to set up the physics department. To this end he founded the ''Technisch Physische Dienst'', a cooperative of Delft university and the
Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (, abbreviated TNO, literally "Dutch Organisation for Applied Scientific Research") is an independent statutory research organisation in the Netherlands that focuses on applied science ...
and became chairman of its board. In 1931 he became chairman of the Dutch Physics Society. Being
Dutch Reformed The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal fami ...
, in 1930 Dorgelo became a
church elder In Christianity, an elder is a person who is valued for wisdom and holds a position of responsibility and authority in a Christian group. In some Christian traditions (e.g., Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, Methodism) an ''elder'' ...
of the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, where he also played the
organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...
. In 1942, during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in World War II, Dorgelo accepted the position of
Rector Magnificus A rector (Latin for 'ruler') is a senior official in an educational institution, and can refer to an official in either a university or a secondary school. Outside the English-speaking world, the rector is often the most senior official in a u ...
of Delft University of Technology. Following the assassination of an NSB member by the
Dutch resistance The Dutch resistance () to the History of the Netherlands (1939–1945), German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II can be mainly characterized as non-violent. The primary organizers were the Communist Party of the Netherlands, C ...
, a large number of students were interned and the rest was required to sign a declaration of loyalty. Led by Dorgelo, the university senate advised the student body to sign, citing that a university that remained open would be invaluable to the post-war rebuilding effort in the Netherlands. The result of this advice was a vote of no confidence by the students, however, and Dorgelo resigned as rector in 1943. After the liberation of The Netherlands, rebuilding and renewed industrialization were cause for an increased call for another technical university to increase the capacity of the country. Education Minister mr. J. Cals requested Dorgelo to become rector, causing him to move back to Eindhoven in 1956. Being in favor of a broad educational program, Dorgelo hired professors from the social fields as well as scientific fields in order to set up a General Sciences department. In 1958 he also joined the
Studium Generale is the old customary name for a medieval university in medieval Europe. Overview There is no official definition for the term . The term ' first appeared at the beginning of the 13th century out of customary usage, and meant a place where stud ...
committee. Even though he intended to be a teaching professor, the administration of the new university took up all of Dorgelo's time, before and after the opening in 1957. Between then and his death in 1961 he only took on one PhD candidate, ir. K. Reinsma. After Dorgelo's death, in 1964, one of the main roads near the university campus was renamed the "Dorgelolaan" (Dorgelo Avenue) in his honor. The main meeting room of the University Council carries the name "Dorgelozaal" (Dorgelo Hall).


References

* ''De kleine TU/e encyclopedie 1956–2006'', Joep Huiskamp, Eindhoven, 2006,


External links

*
TH Delft in de Tweede Wereldoorlog
*
Rede van 19 september 1958
''De lotgevallen van de Technische Hogeschool te Eindhoven gedurende het eerste jaar van haar bestaan''. *
Rede van 21 september 1959
''De lotgevallen van de Technische Hogeschool te Eindhoven gedurende het cursusjaar 1958–1959'' *
Rede van 19 september 1960
''De lotgevallen van de Technische Hogeschool te Eindhoven gedurende het cursusjaar 1959–1960'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorgelo, Hendrik 1894 births 1961 deaths 20th-century Dutch physicists 20th-century Dutch mathematicians Utrecht University alumni Academic staff of the Delft University of Technology Academic staff of the Eindhoven University of Technology Rectores Magnifici of the Eindhoven University of Technology People from Avereest