Person
Burn, Alan (1889 - 1959)
- Born
- 19 October 1889
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia - Died
- 18 December 1959
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia - Occupation
- Engineer
Summary
Alan Burn, BE MSc HonLLD MIEAust, was Professor of Engineering, University of Tasmania, 1919-1955 and Vice-Chancellor 1945-1949. His research included studies of aerofoil theory, vortex wind tunnels, hydraulics, centrifugal and axial pumps, and stress.
He was awarded the Warren Memorial Prize 1939, and the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal 1955, by the Institution of Engineers Australia, and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Tasmania in 1948.
He is also honoured by the Alan Burn lectures, given annually to the Institution of Engineers, and the Alan Burn prize in engineering, awarded by the University of Tasmania.
Details
Chronology
- 1909
- Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Tasmania
- 1911
- Education - Bachelor of Engineering (BE), with First Class Honours in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, University of Sydney
- 1911
- Career position - Demonstrator, Electrical engineering, University of Sydney
- 1911
- Education - Master of Science (MSc), University of Tasmania
- 1912 - 1914
- Career position - Assistant Mechanical Engineer, State Rivers and Water Supply Commission, Victoria
- 1914
- Award - Walter and Eliza Hall Travelling Fellowship in Engineering, University of Sydney
- 1915 - 1916
- Career position - 'Voluntaar', Escher Wyss & Company, Zurich, Switzerland. (studying the design and construction of water turbines and centrifugal pumps.)
- c. 1916
- Career event - Honorary Commission, Lieutenant, RAF
- 1916 - 1918
- Career position - Aeronautical Inspection Department, England
- 1918 - 1919
- Career position - Acting Professor of Engineering, University of Tasmania
- 1919
- Career event - Foundation Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
- 1919 - 1956
- Career position - Professor of Engineering, University of Tasmania
- 1925
- Career position - Chairman, Tasmanian Division, Institution of Engineers Australia
- 1938
- Award - Warren Memorial Prize 1939, Institution of Engineers Australia
- 1945 - 1949
- Career position - Part-time Vice Chancellor, University of Tasmania
- 1948
- Award - Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD), University of London
- 1950
- Career position - President, Institution of Engineers Australia
- 1955
- Award - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal - Career Achievement Award in Engineering. Institution of Engineers Australia
- 1956 - 1959
- Career position - Emeritus Professor of Engineering, University of Tasmania
Related entries
Archival resources
University of Tasmania Library, Special/Rare Collection
- Alan Burn - Records, 1920 - 1955, UT.467,35 ..; University of Tasmania Library, Special/Rare Collection. Details
Published resources
Book Sections
- Gregory, M. S., 'Burn, Alan (1889-1959), academic engineer' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 7: 1891 - 1939 A-Ch, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1979), pp. 487-488. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A070493b.htm. Details
Journal Articles
- 'Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal: 1955 Award [Prof. A. Burn, LLD MSc BE MIEAust]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 27 (1955), 321. Details
- 'Obituary: Alan Burn', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 32 (1960), N10. Details
- Burn, A., 'The theory of columns, and methods of design', Transactions of the Institution of Engineers Australia, 3 (1922), 112-132, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.633175238529904. Details
- Burn, A., 'Variable transmission for road vehicles (Abstract)', Transactions of the Institution of Engineers Australia, 6 (1925), 288-290, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.863745310603344. Details
- Burn, A., 'Simplified calculations for composite beam bridges', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 7 (1935), 99-. Details
- Burn, A., 'The Effect of Deflection of the Supporting Beams on the Bending Moments in a Uniformly Loaded Slab', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 13 (1941), 131-137, Discussion pp.213-. Details
- Burn, A., 'Trends in the development of water turbines', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 22 (1950), 217-. Details
- Burn, A., 'Presidential address', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 23 (1951), 69-. Details
- Institution of Engineers Australia, 'Twenty-third Annual Report [1942]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 15 (1943), 35-51. 'Prizes - Warren Memorial Prize: (1939 Award) to Professor Alan Burn, MSc BE AMIEAust, Tasmania Division, for his paper "The Effect of Deflection of the Supporting Beams on the Bending Moments in a Uniformly Loaded Slab", p.37. Details
Reports
- Institution of Engineers Australia, Thirty-sixth Annual Report [1955] (Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1956), 14 pp. 'Prizes - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal (1955 Award), to Professor A Burn, LLD MSc BE MIEAust, Tasmania Division', p.2. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21535179. Details
- 'Burn, Alan (1889-1959)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1468871. Details
See also
- Paterson, M. S., 'John Conrad Jaeger 1907-1979', Historical Records of Australian Science, 5 (3) (1982), 64-88. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9820530064. Details
Gavan McCarthy; Ken McInnes
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 23 October 2024
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