The Albert Shields Story

Abstract

In the vast literature on sediment transport, rivers, and related topics, few if any names are more frequently cited than Albert F. Shields (1908–1974). Yet all of these citations are to a single publication: his doctoral thesis submitted to the Technischen Hochschule Berlin in 1936 in which he developed his ideas on Aenlichkeitsmechanik (similarity mechanics) for application to riverine sediment transport, ripple formation, and initiation of motion. Shields' most famous results are his graph for critical tractive force (initiation of particle motion), and secondarily, his sediment-transport formula. Presented here is the story of the many difficulties Shields encountered in conducting his research in Nazi Germany; his inability to find employment in hydraulics following his return to his native United States; the chance encounter with and promulgation of his work by Rouse; and his eventual relinquishment of hydraulics for a long and successful career in machine design.