Konrad Johannes Karl Büttner facts for kids

Konrad Johannes Karl Büttner (born October 6, 1903 – died November 14, 1970) was an important German-American scientist. He studied weather (meteorology), how climate affects living things (bioclimatology), and was a university professor.

About Konrad Büttner's Life

Konrad Büttner was born in Westendorf, a town in Germany. He later passed away in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. He was a Protestant, married, and had one child. His parents were John Samuel Julius Büttner and Emilie Henriette Elisabeth Büttner.

Konrad Büttner's Education

From 1917 to 1922, Konrad Büttner attended a high school called Gymnasium at Schulpforte. After that, from 1922 to 1926, he studied geophysics (the physics of Earth), physics, and mathematics. He studied at universities in Erlangen, Hanover, and Göttingen.

In 1927, he earned his doctorate degree from the University of Göttingen. A doctorate is a very high university degree. He wrote a special paper called a thesis about "Experiments on the penetrating radiation." This work earned him the title of Doctor of Philosophy.

Later, in 1934, he completed another important academic work called a habilitation treatise. This paper was about "The heat transfer by conduction and convection, evaporation and radiation in Bioklimatologie and Meteorology." This allowed him to become a full university professor. He then became the head of the Bioclimatic Research Centre at the University of Kiel.

Academic Career and Appointments

From 1927 to 1931, Büttner received a scholarship to study meteorology in Potsdam. He was also a fellow of the Emergency Association of German Science. From 1931 to 1934, he worked as a scientific assistant for meteorology. He was also an Assistant Professor and led the Bioclimatic Research Centre in Kiel.

While at Kiel, from 1939 to 1947, he taught courses in meteorology and geophysics. In January 1947, Büttner became an extraordinary professor of meteorology at the University of Kiel.

Involvement During World War II

During World War II, Konrad Büttner was a member of the Sturmabteilung (SA) and the National Socialist German Workers' Party from 1933 to 1945. He was involved with the Medical Department of the Medical Research Institute for Graf Zeppelins. This institute was active in Stuttgart-Ruit, which was previously a main testing ground for the German air force (Luftwaffe). In October 1942, Büttner gave lectures as a government medical officer on medical topics related to distress and death in winter conditions.

Operation Paperclip and Move to the U.S.

In 1947, Konrad Büttner was part of Operation Paperclip. This was a program that brought German scientists to the United States after World War II. He took a leave from teaching in Kiel and officially left the University in December 1950.

Büttner moved to the United States and worked at the School of Aviation Medicine at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas. From 1947 to 1953, he was a research scientist there, focusing on meteorology.

Professor at the University of Washington

From 1953 until his death in 1970, Büttner was a professor at the University of Washington in Seattle. He taught meteorology and physiology in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences.

At the University of Washington, he taught several interesting courses. These included:

• Microclimatology: The study of very small-scale climates.
• Applied Meteorology and Bioclimatology: This course looked at how weather and climate relate to human health, heat balance, aviation, space travel, air pollution, farming, forestry, and transportation.
• The Upper Atmosphere: This course covered the structure and composition of the upper parts of Earth's atmosphere. It also explored phenomena like the aurora (northern and southern lights), airglow, and the ionosphere.
• Atmospheric Electricity: This course taught about how atmospheric ions form and disappear, the Earth's electrical field, and the causes of lightning.
• Atmospheric Radiation: This course focused on the solar spectrum, how light scatters in the atmosphere, and the radiative heat balance of Earth.

Patents and Inventions

Konrad Büttner also held a patent for his inventions. He was granted U.S. Patent No. 3,315,518 for "Humidity Sensing Devices." These devices help measure how much moisture is in the air.