Hendrik Berend Dorgelo (9 February 1894 in

Dedemsvaart Dedemsvaart ("Dedem's Canal") (Dutch Low Saxon: ''De Voart'') is a town in Overijssel, the Netherlands. Overview The town is located along an old canal, also called , which is the source of the village's name. The canal lost its commercial imp ...

– 6 March 1961 in Eindhoven) was a Dutch

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

. He was the first

rector magnificus A rector (Latin for 'ruler') is a senior official in an educational institution, and can refer to an official in either a university or a secondary school. Outside the English-speaking world the rector is often the most senior official in a un ...

of the Technische Hogeschool Eindhoven.

Biography

Henk Dorgelo originally attended teachers' training college (Dutch: ''kweekschool'') and became a teacher. He was drafted during World War I and did his state exams while serving as an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

. Now able to attend university, he decided to study mathematics and

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

. Following his propaedeuse in 1919, he combined study, work as a teacher at the Christelijk Gymnasium Utrecht and an internship in the laboratory of

Leonard Ornstein Leonard Salomon Ornstein (November 12, 1880 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands – May 20, 1941 in Utrecht, the Netherlands) was a Dutch physicist. Biography Ornstein studied theoretical physics with Hendrik Antoon Lorentz at University of Lei ...

. He earned his Ph.D in physics in 1924, writing a

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

on gas discharge physics. The relationship of this work to the production of radio tubes got him a job at Philips' NatLab in Eindhoven. In 1925 he married a former pupil of his, Hermina Anna Plomp. Together they had four boys and three daughters. In 1927 Dorgelo was appointed professor at

Delft University of Technology Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among ...

, in order to set up the physics department. To this end he founded the ''Technisch Physische Dienst'', a cooperative of Delft university and the

Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek (TNO; en, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research) is an independent research organisation in the Netherlands that focuses on applied science. The organisat ...

and became chairman of its board. In 1931 he became chairman of the Dutch Physics Society. Being

Dutch Reformed The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

, in 1930 Dorgelo became a

church elder In Christianity, an elder is a person who is valued for wisdom and holds a position of responsibility and authority in a Christian group. In some Christian traditions (e.g., Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, Methodism) an ''elder ...

of the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, where he also played the organ. In 1942, during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in World War II, Dorgelo accepted the position of

Rector Magnificus A rector (Latin for 'ruler') is a senior official in an educational institution, and can refer to an official in either a university or a secondary school. Outside the English-speaking world the rector is often the most senior official in a un ...

of Delft University of Technology. Following the assassination of an NSB member by the Dutch resistance, a large number of students were interned and the rest was required to sign a declaration of loyalty. Led by Dorgelo, the university senate advised the student body to sign, citing that a university that remained open would be invaluable to the post-war rebuilding effort in the Netherlands. The result of this advice was a vote of no confidence by the students, however, and Dorgelo resigned as rector in 1943. After the liberation of The Netherlands, rebuilding and renewed industrialization were cause for an increased call for another technical university to increase the capacity of the country. Education Minister mr. J. Cals requested Dorgelo to become rector, causing him to move back to Eindhoven in 1956. Being in favor of a broad educational program, Dorgelo hired professors from the social fields as well as scientific fields in order to set up a General Sciences department. In 1958 he also joined the

Studium Generale is the old customary name for a medieval university in medieval Europe. Overview There is no official definition for the term . The term ' first appeared at the beginning of the 13th century out of customary usage, and meant a place where stud ...

committee. Even though he intended to be a teaching professor, the administration of the new university took up all of Dorgelo's time, before and after the opening in 1957. Between then and his death in 1961 he only took on one PhD candidate, ir. K. Reinsma. After Dorgelo's death, in 1964, one of the main roads near the university campus was renamed the "Dorgelolaan" (Dorgelo Avenue) in his honor. The main meeting room of the University Council carries the name "Dorgelozaal" (Dorgelo Hall).

References

* ''De kleine TU/e encyclopedie 1956–2006'', Joep Huiskamp, Eindhoven, 2006,

External links

*
TH Delft in de Tweede Wereldoorlog
*
Rede van 19 september 1958
''De lotgevallen van de Technische Hogeschool te Eindhoven gedurende het eerste jaar van haar bestaan''. *
Rede van 21 september 1959
''De lotgevallen van de Technische Hogeschool te Eindhoven gedurende het cursusjaar 1958–1959'' *
Rede van 19 september 1960
''De lotgevallen van de Technische Hogeschool te Eindhoven gedurende het cursusjaar 1959–1960'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorgelo, Hendrik 1894 births 1961 deaths 20th-century Dutch physicists 20th-century Dutch mathematicians Utrecht University alumni Delft University of Technology faculty Eindhoven University of Technology faculty Rectores Magnifici of the Eindhoven University of Technology People from Avereest