Ralph G. Nevins (November 15, 1924 – October 30, 1974) was an American

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

and Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department and Dean of the College of Engineering at

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

, Manhattan,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Biography

Nevins was born on November 15, 1924, at

Kinsley, Kansas Kinsley is a city in and the county seat of Edwards County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,456. It is located along Highway 50. History The community was originally called Petersburg, and un ...

. He grew up in

Dodge City Dodge City is a city in and the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. It was named after nearby Fort Dodge, which was named in honor of Grenville Dodge. The city ...

. He earned BS and MS degrees in

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

and a

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 1973 from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

. He spent a year in the military and joined the faculty at

as an instructor. He died October 30, 1974. The Ralph G. Nevins Physiology and Human Environment Award is an annual prize given by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) awarded since 1978 to "young researcher who has distinguished himself in man’s response to the environment, which may include thermal, acoustical, olfactory, microbial or other effects".

Career

In 1957 he became chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department. He was the Kansas Power and Light Company Distinguished Professor, 1963-67. In 1961,

ASHRAE The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE ) is an American professional association seeking to advance heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems design and constructio ...

decided to close its research laboratory, located in Cleveland since 1924, and invited interested organizations to bid on receiving its equipment. Nevins obtained from the state of Kansas $160,000 for a building and a like amount from the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

for installation and operation. He obtained the chamber and promised to carry on research in ASHRAE’s interest for at least five years. The new facility was named the Institute for Environmental Research, and Nevins became its

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. Dozens of the Institute’s students have received the Ralph G. Nevins Award over the years, and more than 10 graduate students and associated KSU faculty members are now ASHRAE Fellows. In 1967 he was promoted to Dean of the College of Engineering at KSU. He published over 60 technical papers in ASHRAE, ASME, ASEE and others. In 1973 he accepted the position of Fellow and Head of the Environmental Engineering Group and Member of the Executive Committee of the John B. Pierce Foundation Laboratory, New Haven, Connecticut, a world class environmental research organization. In association with

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, he was also a visiting professor of Environmental Technologies.

Published works

*Nevins, Ralph G. "Psychrometrics and modern comfort". ''ASHRAE Transactions'' 67 (1961):609-621. Listed among the 100 most important papers in ASHRAE's history *Michaels, KB, R. G. Nevins and A. M. Feyerherm. "The Effect of Floor Surface Temperature on Comfort. Part II: College Age Females." ''ASHRAE Trans'' 70 (1964): 37-43. *Nevins, Ralph G., et al. "A Temperature-Humidity Chart for Thermal Comfort of Seated Persons." ''ASHRAE Transactions'' 72.1 (1966): 283-291. *McNall, P. E., et al. "Thermal Comfort (Thermally Neutral) Conditions for Three Levels of Activity." ''ASHRAE Transactions'' 73.1 (1967): 3.1-3.14. *Nevins, Ralph G. and A. M. Feyerherm. "Effect of Floor Surface Temperature on Comfort. Part IV: Cold Floors." ''ASHRAE Transactions'' 73.2 (1967). *Rohles Jr, F. H., J. E. Woods and R. G. Nevins. "The Effect of Air Speed and Temperature on the Thermal Sensations of Sedentary Man." ''ASHRAE Transactions'' 80(1) (1974): 101-119. *Nevins, Ralph G. "Air Diffusion Dynamics: Theory, Design, and Application". Business News Publishing Company (1976). *Gagge, A. P., Y. Nishi and R. G. Nevins. "The Role of Clothing in Meeting FEA Energy Conservation Guidelines." ''ASHRAE Transactions'' 82.2 (1976): 234-247. *Gagge, A. Pharo and Ralph G. Nevins.
Effect of Energy Conservation Guidelines on Comfort. Acceptability and Health
" 491 (1977): 93.

Awards

Nevis won the distinguished alumni and service awards from the

in 1970 and 1971. He received the ASHRAE’s Distinguished Service Award.

References

External links