Susan Ardis, head librarian at the McKinney Engineering Library, reflects on the relationship between librarian and scholar.
Thinking…really thinking…about problems sums up Dr. E.L. Koschmieder.
Dr. Koschmieder received his from Ph.D. from the University Of Bonn in 1963 and came to the University of Texas after having post docs at Harvard and the University of Chicago. He is now an emeritus faculty member in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering. While at UT, his technical interests included convection, hydrodynamic instability and turbulence. He is also well known for his fluid mechanics photographs—so well known that even after he retired we got questions about how to contact him for permission to use one of his photographs. I note that he always gave permission.
What has always set Lothar apart from others is not only his abiding interest in fluid mechanics but is his interests in culture, photography, political science and education. Lothar is from the old school—an educated man who believes in education and is always trying to solve what he calls “my little problems.” Once he retired, he did not stop thinking of nor stop trying to solve his little problems. These “little problems” could be found anywhere but one in particular he discovered when he and his wife Kate traveled to Peru, Ecuador and specifically the Machu Picchu area, where he took literally thousands of photographs.
This physicist/engineer was fascinated by the building techniques used and he wanted to know more. He examined and thought about the knobs or bosses on the stones found in walls at Cuzco—what purpose did they serve? So began another of his research projects. He borrowed books from all over the world, particularly those with early descriptions, drawings and photographs of Inca buildings, art and textiles. He talked with experts and he read, read, read. The result of all of this effort and thought is a truly remarkable book The Inca Kingdom (Xlibris, 2012).
As always when a librarian is acknowledged for her help—I was tickled pink to be honored for my help in his book.
