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Charles Proteus Steinmetz (April 9, 1865–October 26, 1923) was an American Mathematician and Electrical Engineer. He fostered the development of alternating current that made possible the expansion of the electric power industry in the United States, formulating mathematical theories for engineers. He made ground-breaking discoveries in the understanding of hysteresis that enabled engineers to better design electric motors for use in industry. [1]

[edit] Biography

He was born as Carl August Rudolph Steinmetz to Carl Heinrich Steinmetz in Breslau, Prussia on April 9, 1865. Steinmetz suffered from dwarfism, hunchback, and hip dysplasia. He was the third generation of males in his family to have these deformities. However, his deformities did not hold back his mind or spirit from impacting the world.

He attended Johannes Gymanasium (the equivalent to the U.S./UK high school) and astonished his teachers with his proficiency in mathematics and physics. He went on to Wrocław University to begin work on his undergraduate degree in 1883. He was on the verge of finishing his Doctorate in 1888 when he came under investigation by the German police.

He drew attention from the authorities due to his activity in a Socialist University group and articles he had written for a local socialist newspaper (socialist meetings and press were outlawed by Bismarck). He fled to Zürich in 1888 to escape possible arrest and when the time remaining on his permit dwindled down, emigrated to the United States. It was 1889. Shortly after arriving, he went to work for Rudolf Eickemeyer in Yonkers, New York and published in the field of magnetic hysteresis. Eickemeyer's firm developed transformers for use in the transmission of electrical power among many other mechanical and electrical devices. In 1893 Eickemeyer's company, along with all of his patents and designs, was bought by the newly formed General Electric Company. That same year he made one of his greatest contributions to the Electrical Engineering community, a lecture and presentation describing the mathematics of alternating current phenomena which had not previously been explained or grasped by earlier engineers. This enabled engineers to move from designing electric motors by trial and error to designing them with the aid of applicable mathematics to create on paper the best possible motor before actually constructing it. In 1894, General Electric moved to Schenectady, New York, and Steinmetz was promoted to head of the calculating department, where his colleagues would bring to him the mathematical problems that were stumbling blocks to their projects. When not freely helping his co-workers, he worked on his own experiments in electrical engineering. [2]

[edit] Later years

He served as president of the Board of Education of Schenectady, and as president of the Schenectady city council. He was also president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) from 1901 to 1902 and a part-time professor at Union College from 1902 to 1923, while still employed by General Electric. Steinmetz was an honorary member and advisor to the fraternity Phi Gamma Delta at Union (one of the first electrified houses ever was the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity house). He was also a member of the Technical Alliance for some time.

Steinmetz died in 1923 and was buried in Vale Cemetery, Schenectady.

[edit] Patents

At the time of his death, Steinmetz held over 200 patents: [3]

[edit] Awards

[edit] Works

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links