Johannes (Jan) Martinus Burgers (January 13, 1895 – June 7, 1981) 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 the brother of the physicist Wilhelm G. Burgers. Burgers studied in

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

under

Paul Ehrenfest Paul Ehrenfest (; 18 January 1880 – 25 September 1933) was an Austrian Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist who made major contributions to statistical mechanics and its relation to quantum physics, quantum mechanics, including the theory ...

, where he obtained his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1918. He is known for the

Burgers' equation Burgers' equation or Bateman–Burgers equation is a fundamental partial differential equation and convection–diffusion equation occurring in various areas of applied mathematics, such as fluid mechanics, nonlinear acoustics, gas dynamics, and ...

, the

Burgers vector In materials science, the Burgers vector, named after Dutch physicist Jan Burgers, is a Vector (geometric), vector, often denoted as , that represents the Magnitude (vector), magnitude and direction of the lattice distortion resulting from a dislo ...

dislocation In materials science, a dislocation or Taylor's dislocation is a linear crystallographic defect or irregularity within a crystal structure that contains an abrupt change in the arrangement of atoms. The movement of dislocations allow atoms to sli ...

theory and the

Burgers material A Burgers material is a viscoelastic material having the properties both of elasticity and viscosity. It is named after the Dutch physicist Johannes Martinus Burgers. Overview Maxwell representation Given that one Maxwell material has an el ...

viscoelasticity In materials science and continuum mechanics, viscoelasticity is the property of materials that exhibit both viscous and elastic characteristics when undergoing deformation. Viscous materials, like water, resist both shear flow and strain lin ...

. Jan Burgers was one of the co-founders of the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM) in 1946, and was its secretary-general from 1946 until 1952. In 1931 he became member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

, in 1955 he became foreign member.

Early life and education

Burgers was born in Arnhem, Netherlands. There he attended both primary and secondary school. He attended Leiden University from 1914 until 1917. Burgers became a Doctor of Mathematical and Physical Sciences in 1918, writing a thesis entitled "Het Atoommodel van Rutherford-Bohr" (The Model of the Atom according to Rutherford and Bohr).

Career

Jan Burgers took his first position out of graduate school as Conservator at the Physical Laboratory of the Teyler's Foundation. From September 1918 until October 1955, Dr. Burgers was professor of Aerodynamics and Hydrodynamics at the

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 ...

. He was also secretary of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Shipbuilding (1921–1924) and later the department's chairman (1929–1931). Burgers also worked with scientists including

Theodore von Karman Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory, Australia * Theodore, Queensland, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore Reservoir, in Saskatchewan People * Theodore (g ...

, L. Prandt, R. von Mises, G.I. Taylor and W.F. Durand, and Paul Ehrenfest. Jan Burgers researched

fluid dynamics In physics, physical chemistry and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids – liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including (the study of air and other gases in motion ...

, worked on the theory of turbulence, and explored what came to be known as the

. He also studied crystallography with his brother Willy Gerard Burgers. Burgers and his wife, Anna immigrated to the United States in 1955 where Burgers accepted a position of research professor at the Institute for Fluid Dynamics and Applied Mathematics (now the Institute for Physical Science and Technology) at the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

. Burgers continued his interest in fluid dynamics while at the University of Maryland, and was recognized for his studies in gas dynamics, plasma physics, shock waves, and related phenomena. Burgers retired from the University of Maryland in 1965. The year of his retirement saw the publication of a book on the philosophy of biology. Influenced by the British philosopher A. N. Whitehead, he had been thinking about this for 20 years.

Notes

References

External links

* * A.J.Q. Alkemade
''Burgers, Johannes Martinus (1895–1981)''
in Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland.

biography at the University of Maryland
JM Burgers Centrum

The Burgers program for fluid dynamics
at the University of Maryland
Oral History interview transcript with Johannes Burgers June 9, 1962, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
* , 32nd Gibbs lecture delivered by Burgers, Philadelphia, January 20, 1959 {{DEFAULTSORT:Burgers, Jan 20th-century Dutch physicists 1895 births 1981 deaths Scientists from Arnhem Academic staff of the Delft University of Technology Leiden University alumni Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ASME Medal recipients University of Maryland, College Park faculty Fluid dynamicists 20th-century American engineers Fellows of the American Physical Society