Carlos Graef Fernández (February 25, 1911 – January 13, 1988) was a Mexican physicist and mathematician. A graduate of the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

(UNAM) and the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

(MIT), he was a founding member of the Mexican Mathematical Society and the Mexican Physical Society. He helped to establish the

Tonantzintla Observatory Tonantzintla Observatory ( es, Observatorio de Tonantzintla, link=no) is an astronomical observatory located in the municipality of San Andrés Cholula in the Mexican state of Puebla. It consists of two adjacent facilities: the National Astrophy ...

and he later directed it. He received the

National Prize for Arts and Sciences The National Prize for Arts and Sciences ( es, Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes) is awarded annually by the Government of Mexico in six categories. It is part of the Mexican Honours System and was established in 1945. The prize is a gold medal a ...

in 1970.

Biography

Graef Fernández was born in Guanaceví, Durango, where his father was a

mining engineer Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...

. He had two younger siblings; his brother Hermann became an accomplished physician. He attributed an early interest in science to a physics book that his mother gave him as a child. Graef Fernández first studied at a German school in Mexico, then went to Technische Hochschule Darmstadt (today Technische Universität Darmstadt) in the German city of

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

for a couple of years before returning to Mexico. He completed his undergraduate education at UNAM, and he was influenced by UNAM scientists

Manuel Sandoval Vallarta Manuel Sandoval Vallarta (11 February 1899 – 18 April 1977) was a Mexican physicist. He was a Physics professor at both MIT and the Institute of Physics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Biography Sandoval Vallart ...

and Sotero Prieto, who each mentored several successful Mexican scientists. Awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

and other assistance, including a stipend awarded by Mexican president

Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Born in Jiquilpan, Michoacán, to a working-class family, Cárdenas joined the M ...

, Graef Fernández went to MIT. Around that time, he married Alicia Sánchez Castell and they later had three children. He completed a doctorate at MIT in 1940 and worked at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. At Harvard, Graef Fernández met

Luis Enrique Erro Luis Enrique Erro (January 7, 1897 – January 18, 1955) was a Mexican astronomer, politician, and educational reformer. Born in Mexico City, Erro studied civil engineering and accounting, among other subjects. He occupied the post of head of ...

, who invited him to join the effort to found the Tonantzintla Observatory in the Mexican state of

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

. In ''The Skin of the Sky'', Graef Fernández is described as "small, round and prone to a cordiality that made him lovable"; he seemed an unlikely partner for Erro, who was a slender, elegant man with a hearing aid. Ultimately, Graef Fernández was more interested in studying gravitational issues than astrophysics, so he sought an academic position. He joined the UNAM faculty, where he directed the Institute of Physics and the Faculty of Sciences. Graef Fernández organized the meeting that led to the establishment of the Mexican Mathematical Society in 1943. He was also a founding member of the Mexican Physical Society in 1951. The society awards the Carlos Graef Fernández Prize. He was awarded the National Prize for Arts and Sciences in 1970. Graef Fernández served on numerous committees related to the nuclear industry. He was made an emeritus professor at UNAM in 1974 and died in 1988.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graef Fernández, Carlos 1911 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Mexican physicists 20th-century Mexican mathematicians Mexican people of German descent People from Durango National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni Academic staff of the National Autonomous University of Mexico Technische Universität Darmstadt alumni