Comfort A. Adams

Comfort Avery Adams (November 1, 1868[1] – February 21, 1958) was an American electrical engineer who as a student helped Albert A. Michelson with the Michelson-Morley experiment (1887), which was later viewed as confirming the special relativity theory of Albert Einstein (1905). He was a recipient of the IEEE Edison Medal and AIEE Lamme Medal.

Comfort Avery Adams
Born(1868-11-01)November 1, 1868
DiedFebruary 21, 1958(1958-02-21) (aged 89)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materCase School of Applied Science
AwardsIEEE Edison Medal (1956)
Scientific career
FieldsElectrical engineering

Biography

"Doc Adams", as he was commonly addressed by his colleagues and friends, received his Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from his alma mater, Case School of Applied Science, in 1925 after having been on the faculty at Harvard College and dean of their engineering school for almost 35 years. He later received his second honorary doctorate from Lehigh University in 1939. By that time he had retired from Harvard. In terms of an all-around American engineer in the early 20th century, Comfort A. Adams comes the closest to being America's answer to Britain's I. K. Brunel.

Adams was president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers[2] and the American Welding Society. He organized and chaired the Welding Research Council.

Honors and awards
  • Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1906)[3]
  • Honorary Doctor of Engineering from Case School of Applied Science 1925
  • Honorary Doctor of Engineering from Lehigh University (1939)
  • Lamme Medalist of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (1940)
  • IEEE Edison Medal (1956)
  • Delivered the first of the series of Adams Lectures founded in his honor by the American Welding Society
  • Samuel Wylie Miller Medal of the American Welding Society (first recipient)
  • Long-time member of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Committee, then Honorary Member
  • Honorary Member of the International Acetylene Association
  • Member of the National Academy of Sciences

Memberships

Club memberships
  • Harvard Faculty Club, Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • Engineers Club, New York
  • Engineers' Club of Philadelphia
  • Cedarbrook Country Club, Blue Bell, Pennsylvania

References
  1. "Adams, Comfort Avery". Who Was Who Among North American Authors, 1921-1939. Detroit: Gale Research Co. 1976. p. 7. ISBN 0810310414.
  2. "Comfort Avery Adams". IEEE Global History Network. IEEE. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  3. "Book of Members, 1780-2010: Chapter A" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
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