José Antonio de Artigas Sanz (born 1887) was a Spanish engineer who contributed to the standardization of terminology in the field of

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

Achievements

He earned his doctorate in engineering in 1907, and became a member of the ''Royal Spanish Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences''. Even before graduating, he had used noble gases to create

luminescence Luminescence is spontaneous emission of light by a substance not resulting from heat; or "cold light". It is thus a form of cold-body radiation. It can be caused by chemical reactions, electrical energy, subatomic motions or stress on a cryst ...

for the first time and set up a system that improved the performance of

incandescent Incandescence is the emission of electromagnetic radiation (including visible light) from a hot body as a result of its high temperature. The term derives from the Latin verb ''incandescere,'' to glow white. A common use of incandescence is ...

lighting. When the ''Spanish Permanent Commission for Electricity'' was set up in 1912 to represent Spain at the

International Electrotechnical Commission The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC; in French: ''Commission électrotechnique internationale'') is an international standards organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and r ...

(IEC), De Artigas was appointed President of the ''Spanish Electrotechnical Committee'', a post he held for the remainder of his life. At this period, an IEC Technical Committee had already started work on

nomenclature Nomenclature (, ) is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. The principles of naming vary from the relatively informal naming conventions, conventions of everyday speech to the i ...

, and De Artigas made an important contribution to the preparation of the first edition of the "International Electrotechnical Vocabulary", which contained 2,000 terms divided into 14 groups, and was completed in 1938. In 1952, the Spanish branch of the Committee, under his direction, prepared the Spanish-language version of the Vocabulary, as well as a special version intended for institutes of higher learning in Latin America, containing definitions in Spanish with translations into French, English, German and Italian. He was appointed Honorary President of the IEC at the council meeting held in Madrid in 1959. His work with various international organizations secured unanimous consent to give the scientific unit of light intensity a Spanish name: candela. In addition to his work in electronics, he helped to establish the Spanish precision glass industry and, in North America, succeeded in

casting Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a ''casting'', which is ejected ...

a twenty-three ton glass block completely free of imperfections for the

Palomar Mountain Palomar Mountain ( ; es, Monte Palomar ) is a mountain ridge in the Peninsular Ranges in northern San Diego County. It is famous as the location of the Palomar Observatory and Hale Telescope, and known for the Palomar Mountain State Park. Hist ...

telescope.

Resumé

Offices

* Professor of the ''Higher Institute of Technology for Industrial Engineering''. * Counsellor to the ''Ministry of Education'', the ''Council of Scientific Research'' and the ''International Institute of Statistics''. * Director of the ''Institute of Industrial Studies and Research'', an institute that was later renamed in his honor. * President of the ''Council of Industry''. * President of the ''Institute of Civil Engineers''. * First President of the ''Technical Section of the Permanent Commission of Weights and Measures''. * Honorary Director of the ''Spanish National Institute of Medicine and Industrial Safety''. * Counsellor of the ''National Economic Council''. * President of the ''National Federation of the National Council of Fuel and Chemical Companies''. * VicePresident of the ''Spanish National Optical Company''. * Director of the research center of the ''International Glass Commission''. * Honorary Member of the ''

Society of Glass Technology The Society of Glass Technology (SGT) is an organization for individuals and organizations with a professional interest in glass manufacture and usage. The Society is based in the United Kingdom, with its offices in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, En ...

'', and the ''German Association for Glass Technology''. * Fellow of the '' American Institute of Electrical Engineers''.

Honors

* Grand Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

. * Gentleman in Waiting to His Majesty King Alfonso XIII. * Doctor Honoris Causa of the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Artigas Sanz 1887 births Year of death missing Spanish electrical engineers Spanish engineers Place of birth missing