Robert Byron Bird (February 5, 1924 – November 13, 2020) was an American chemical engineer and professor emeritus in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

. He was known for his research in

transport phenomena In engineering, physics, and chemistry, the study of transport phenomena concerns the exchange of mass, energy, charge, momentum and angular momentum between observed and studied systems. While it draws from fields as diverse as continuum mechan ...

non-Newtonian fluid A non-Newtonian fluid is a fluid that does not follow Newton's law of viscosity, i.e., constant viscosity independent of stress. In non-Newtonian fluids, viscosity can change when under force to either more liquid or more solid. Ketchup, for exa ...

s, including fluid dynamics of

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

s, polymer kinetic theory, and

rheology Rheology (; ) is the study of the flow of matter, primarily in a fluid ( liquid or gas) state, but also as "soft solids" or solids under conditions in which they respond with plastic flow rather than deforming elastically in response to an appl ...

. He, along with Warren E. Stewart and Edwin N. Lightfoot, was an author of the classic textbook

Transport Phenomena In engineering, physics, and chemistry, the study of transport phenomena concerns the exchange of mass, energy, charge, momentum and angular momentum between observed and studied systems. While it draws from fields as diverse as continuum mechan ...

. Bird was a recipient of the

National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...

in 1987.

Childhood and education

Robert Byron Bird was born on February 5, 1924 in Bryan, Texas. His father, Byron Bird was a professor of civil engineering at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. In his, Bird recounts he obtain his elementary and junior high education in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and thereafter he attending Central High school in Washington D. C. Bird attended

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

from 1941 to 1943, where he was initiated into the Alpha Rho Chapter of

Alpha Chi Sigma Alpha Chi Sigma () is a professional fraternity specializing in the fields of the chemical sciences. It has both collegiate and professional chapters throughout the United States consisting of both men and women and numbering more than 70,000 mem ...

in 1943. He had to discontinue his studies during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in which he served in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. As a second lieutenant in the 90th Chemical Mortar Battalion, he saw action from the eastern Belgium to the Austrian border. Bird received his B.S. degree in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

from the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

in 1947 and Ph.D. degree in

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mecha ...

from

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

in 1950. During 1950–1951, he was a

postdoctoral fellow A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...

at Instituut voor Theoretische Fysica,

Universiteit van Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

under Jan de Boer. During his postdoc, he co-authored his first textbook, the 1,200-page

Molecular Theory of Gases and Liquids A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...

, along with his advisor Joseph O. Hirschfelder and another UW-Madison professor

Charles F. Curtiss Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

Awards and honors

Bird was a recipient of the

; the Medal was awarded by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

"for his profoundly influential books and research on kinetic theory, transport phenomena, the behavior of polymeric fluids, and foreign language study for engineers and scientists." He was awarded the

Bingham Medal The Bingham Medal is an annual award for outstanding contributions to the field of rheology awarded at the Annual Meeting of The Society of Rheology. It was instituted in 1948 by the society to commemorate Eugene C. Bingham (1878–1945). List o ...

in 1974 for his outstanding contributions to the field of

and

Eringen Medal The A. C. Eringen Medal or Eringen Medal is an award given annually bthe Society of Engineering Science(SES) to an individual "in recognition of sustained outstanding achievements in Engineering Science". This award was established in 1976. The ...

in 1983. He was a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...

since 1969, member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

since 1989, and a number of foreign academies, including the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

(1985), Royal Belgian Academy of Sciences (1994). Bird was also a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

since 1981, the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

since 1970, and the American Academy of Mechanics since 1983. In 2015 he was elected a Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

. In 2004, Bird was granted the Dutch title Knight of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

for his "exceptional contributions to the promotion of Dutch language and culture in the United States and at the University of Wisconsin". He was inducted into the

Hall of Fame in 2008. He was recipient of the

Reed M. Izatt Reed McNeil Izatt (born 10 October 1926 in Logan, Utah) is a Charles E. Maw Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus, at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. His field of research was macrocyclic chemistry and metal separation technologies. Early li ...

and James J. Christensen Lectureship in 2010. Bird died in November 2020 at the age of 96.

Books

Bird was the coauthor of several influential books in

and

, including the classic textbook ''Transport Phenomena'', which was translated into many foreign languages, including Spanish, Italian, Czech, Russian, Persian, and Chinese and the 1200-page tome ''Molecular Theory of Gases and Liquids''. * * * * *''Dynamics of Polymeric Liquids'', Vol. 2, ''Kinetic Theory'', with C. F. Curtiss, R. C. Armstrong, and O. Hassager, Wiley, (1977, 2nd ed. 1987). Since the publication of ''Transport Phenomena'', the subject of transport phenomena has become a standard and essential course in chemical engineering curricula in universities in the U.S. and abroad.

References

External links

Oral history interview transcript for Robert Byron Bird on 22 May 2016, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archives
- Session I, interview conducted by

Alan Jeffrey Giacomin Alan Jeffrey Giacomin (born April 1, 1959, in Kingston, Ontario, Canada) is a professor of chemical engineering at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, and cross-appointed in the Department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, and of Physic ...

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

Oral history interview transcript for Robert Byron Bird on 23 May 2016, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archives
- Session II, interview conducted by

in Devil's Lake, Wisconsin * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Robert Byron 1924 births 2020 deaths People from Bryan, Texas Military personnel from Texas Engineering academics American chemical engineers American physical chemists Fluid dynamicists University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Grainger College of Engineering alumni University of Maryland, College Park alumni Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the American Physical Society National Medal of Science laureates Writers from Texas United States Army personnel of World War II