Theodor Christoph Heinrich Rehbock (12 April 1864,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

– 17 August 1950, Baden-Baden) was a German

hydraulics Hydraulics () is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counterpart of pneumatics, which concer ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, and

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 ...

at the

University of Karlsruhe The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; ) is both a German public university, public research university in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, and a research center of the Helmholtz Association. KIT was created in 2009 when the University of Ka ...

. Theodor Rehbock's father was an overseas merchant. Rehbock studied at the Technische Hochschulen in Munich (now

Technical University Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; ) is a Public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied science, applied and natural sciences. Est ...

) and in Charlottenburg (now

Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin; also known as Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin, although officially the name should not be translated) is a public university, public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was the first ...

) during 1884–90, receiving his degree in 1892.Vierhaus (2007) vol. 8, p. 247 Rehbock performed studies on

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...

and hydraulic engineering in many countries. Further, he built a

hydroelectric power station Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also mo ...

in the

Murg In enzymology, an undecaprenyldiphospho-muramoylpentapeptide beta-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase () is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction :UDP-N-acetylglucosamine + Mur2Ac(oyl-L-Ala-gamma-D-Glu-L-Lys-D-Ala-D-Ala)-diphosphoundecapreno ...

river in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

. In 1899, Rehbock became professor of hydraulics at the University of Karlsruhe. Where he started a hydraulics laboratory, in 1901, of which he was the director until 1934. The hydraulics aspects of most large projects in Germany – as well as in many other countries in the world – were tested here. For instance the ''

Afsluitdijk The Afsluitdijk (; ; "closure dyke") is a major dam and causeway in the Netherlands. It was constructed between 1927 and 1932 and runs from Den Oever in North Holland province to the village of Zurich, Friesland, Zurich in Friesland province, o ...

'' for the separation of the

Zuiderzee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee''), historically called Lake Almere and Lake Flevo, was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands. It extended about 100 km (60 miles) inla ...

(Dutch for South Sea) from the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( ; ; or ; ; ; ) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of low-lying Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tida ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. After his retirement, the laboratory has been named the "''Theodor Rehbock Laboratory''". Rehbock was rector (university president) of the University of Karlsruhe three times: in 1907–08, 1917–18 and 1925–26. In 1935, an initiative of Theodor Rehbock, Wolmar Fellenius and Rudolf Seifert lead to the establishment of the

International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research The International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR), founded in 1935, is a worldwide, non-profit, independent organisation of engineers and water specialists working in fields related to the hydro-environment and in ...

(IAHR). In 1901 Rehbock married Margarete Küster. She gave birth to four sons and one daughter.

Honours

* ''Rehbock

weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

'' – a device to accurately measure the discharge in open channel flows. * ''Rehbock dentated sill'' – for kinetic energy dissipation at the end of a stilling basin, into which the

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...

of a large

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

ends. This, in order to prevent or reduce

scour Scour may refer to: Hydrodynamic processes * Hydrodynamic scour, the removal of sediment such as sand and silt from around an object by water flow ** Bridge scour, erosion of soil around at the base of a bridge pier or abutments via the flow ...

. * ''Theodor Rehbock Medal'' – of the ''Deutsche Vereinigung für Wasserwirtschaft, Abwasser und Abfall'' (''DWA''; German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste), to honour members who made outstanding innovations within the fields covered by the association. This award has been established in 2007. *

Honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

s from the

and the Palatine Joseph University of Technology and Economics in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

.Hofmann (2003) vol. 21, pp. 278–279 * Honorary member of the Dutch Royal Institution of Engineers (KIvI) in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. * A street in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

has been named after him.

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

"Institut für Wasser und Gewässerentwicklung, Bereich Wasserwirtschaft und Kulturtechnik"
with the ''Theodor Rehbock Wasserbaulaboratorium'' (''Theodor Rehbock Hydraulics Laboratory'') at the

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rehbock, Theodor German fluid dynamicists Engineers from Amsterdam Engineers from Karlsruhe Technical University of Munich alumni Technische Universität Berlin alumni 1864 births 1950 deaths Dutch emigrants Immigrants to the German Empire