Robert Durrer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Durrer
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Robert Durrer (around 1950)
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| Born | 1890 |
| Died | 1978 (aged 87–88) |
Robert Durrer (1890–1978) was a clever Swiss engineer. He invented a very important way to make steel. This method is called the basic oxygen steelmaking process. It was also known as the Linz-Donawitz process. This name came from the towns where it was first used in big factories. Durrer successfully tested his new process in 1948. Later, a team in Austria helped make it ready for large-scale use.
Contents
Durrer's Life and Work
Early Career and Discoveries
Robert Durrer finished his university studies in 1915. He stayed in Germany and, in 1928, became a professor. He taught about how to work with metals at a university in Berlin. From 1933 to 1939, Durrer worked on new ways to make steel. He supervised many experiments during this time.
In 1943, Durrer moved back to Switzerland. He joined the board of von Roll AG, a big steel company there. Durrer worked with another expert, Heinrich Heilbrugge. Together, they did many tests. These tests showed that Durrer's new way of making steel could work very well in factories. In 1947, Durrer ordered a small test machine from the United States. On April 1, 1948, Durrer and Heilbrugge made their first steel using oxygen.
Making Steel for the World
In the summer of 1948, von Roll AG and two Austrian companies agreed to use Durrer's process. These companies were VÖEST and ÖAMG. Their large steel-making machines started working in 1952 in Linz and 1953 in Donawitz. For a while, this new method was the best in the world. It made many other countries want to learn more about making steel.
Countries like Japan quickly started using this new method. By 1970, 80% of Japan's steel was made using Durrer's process. In America, steel factories were not damaged by World War II. So, it was cheaper for them to keep their old machines. But even there, new oxygen steelmaking started in 1964. By 1969, more steel was made this way than with older methods.
Durrer also taught at ETH Zurich from 1943 to 1961. He helped write a large book series called Metallurgie des Eisens. This book was all about how to work with iron.
Awards and Special Recognition
Robert Durrer received many awards for his important work. In 1966, he won the Benjamin F. Fairless Award. This award recognized his great help in making steel.
He also received the Bessemer Gold Medal in 1957 from a British group. In 1959, he won the Rinman Medal from the Swedish steel industry.
Today, there is a special award called the Staudinger-Durrer Prize. It is given by ETH Zurich. This prize remembers Durrer and another famous scientist, Hermann Staudinger, who won a Nobel Prize.
