Max Jakob papers, 1905-1954

Max Jakob (1879-1955) was as a German born physicist, born July 20, 1879, in Ludwigshafen, Germany. His was educated in Germany, where he studied electrical engineering at the Technical University of Munich. Continuing his education, Jakob earned a doctorate in Physics by 1903. It was in 1910, however, when he began working in the field of thermodynamics and heat transfer. It would be in this field that he would later be considered one of the most influential thinkers, and the one that would ultimately bring him to America. In 1936, Jakob emigrated to the United States where he became a research professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Known as a front runner in his field, Jakob could have accepted a job from several American universities. He reportedly chose IIT because of his relationship to Enrico Fermi. It was here that he worked at the Heat Transfer laboratory for the Armour Research Institute. With this experience, in 1942, Jakob founded the Heat Transfer Laboratory at IIT and became its first director. His career as a researcher at IIT yielded much success and many advancements in the field of thermodynamics and heat transfer. Jakob is responsible for authoring or editing hundreds of books, articles, reviews, and discussions. In 1950, he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering from Purdue University. In addition to the honorary degree, Jakob was awarded the Worchester Reed Warner medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1952. Jakob, who died January 4, 1955, has left a permanent legacy with his highly influential work in the field of mechanical engineering. In 1962, to honor his contributions, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers created the Max Jakob Memorial award. This annual award represents the highest honor in the area of heat transfer. Jacob was posthumously inducted into the Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago) Hall of Fame in 2001. See additional biographical information about Jakob submitted in connection with his nomination for the award in the "Extended Information" tab in this record. See also, a digital exhibit about Jakob posted in the "Multimedia" tab.