The boards of the KIVI Department of the History of Technology and the Histechnica Association are pleased to invite you to attend a lecture to be delivered by Dr H.G. Heijmans entitled:

Adriën Huët and the Water Locomotive

Entrance 'B' of the Science Centre

The programme is as follows:

10.30:00: Walk-in with coffee and tea

11:00: Welcome and introduction

11.05:00: Lecture by Dr H.G. Heijmans

11:50 a.m.: Break

12:15: Continuation of lecture and concluding discussion

12:45: End of the meeting

Summary of the lecture

Adriën Huët is one of the more striking figures from TU Delft's past. He made his mark in history in particular because he was the founder of the mechanical engineering course at the Polytechnic School, which course he subsequently co-taught for 35 years. He was an ardent advocate of the discipline, constantly stressing the importance of practical training for budding engineers. In his view, the mathematical and analytical approach was less important, while the Polytechnic School had in mind the more scientific and theoretical formation of students. This was one of several topics on which he differed with his colleagues.

Huët was a creative thinker who launched several unorthodox and sometimes controversial ideas and designs. The best known are his alternative plan for the North Sea Canal:"The intersection of Holland at its narrowest", and the design of his waterlocoPotieI. He also engaged in a variety of scientific and also non-scientific topics, frequently disagreeing with others. This out-of-the-box thinker regularly made headlines, becoming a well-known Dutchman who was both feared and loved.

The lecture sketches a picture of this typically nineteenth-century practice-based, somewhat headstrong engineer, and focuses in particular on his design of the water locomotive:"Eene Nederlandsche uitvinding betreffende het vervoer te water met gelijke snelheid als op de spoorwegen".

Information about the speaker

Han Heijmans (1956) studied physics in Utrecht and obtained his PhD on the history of the physics laboratory there. He worked as a curator and exhibition designer in science museums and science centres, and then was director of the Techniek Museum Delft for almost 13 years. From that position, he was closely involved with Histechnica whose board meetings he always attended.

After this period, he moved to the TU Delft Library, where he headed the Research Services department responsible for supporting TU Delft's scientific research.

Please register to attend this lecture:

- KIVI members should register via the KIVI website

- Members of Histechnica should register through the secretary hotzeboonstra@gmail.com

- Interested parties who are not members can also register through the above-mentioned channels. There will then be a charge of €5.00.

The lecture will be broadcast live; you should also register for this via the above means. You will receive the link when you register via the website.

Upcoming activities in Science Center Delft

- Saturday 27 May 2023 at 11:00 lecture by ir. G van Ditshuijzen: "History of our scale and its calculations"

- Saturday 24 June 2023 at 11:00 a.m. lecture by prof J.F. Abbink: "Radar and Electronic Warfare in World War 2"

On the occasion of the 175th anniversary of KIVI, the History of Engineering Department has published a book highlighting the three founders of KIVI in the times in which they lived. The book will be available free of charge during the lecture for members of Histechnica and for members of the KIVI Department of History of Technology.

Participants of the study trip to Ghent and Brussels on 16 and 17 May can receive the programme booklet at this meeting.

Documents