University of California: In Memoriam, April 1966

Carl James Vogt, Mechanical Engineering: Berkeley

	1899-1965
	Professor Emeritus

Carl James Vogt passed away in Oakland, California, on August 20, 1965, at the age of 66. He was born in Balingen, Germany, on May 20, 1899, the son of Carl Vogt and Bertha Vogt. He was brought to the U. S. A. in 1906 and lived in Knights Ferry, California, where he attended public schools in preparation for college.

He began college studies at Stanford University in 1918 but, due to World War I conditions, soon became employed as a mechanic in the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. He returned to his studies in 1922, this time at the University of California, and was awarded the B.S. degree in 1926. After nearly two years of research work in the engine laboratory of the Standard Oil Company, he joined the faculty of the College of Mechanics at the University of California with the title of Instructor. During his early teaching career he was able to undertake graduate studies and was awarded the M.S. degree in 1930. He rose through the professorial ranks and was promoted to the Professorship in 1945, from which he retired in 1964.

Professor Vogt devoted his technical efforts to the field of internal combustion engines, and investigated many problems relating to engine fuels and lubricants. His pioneering experiments on the use of butane were instrumental in gaining wide-spread use of this fuel in trucks. His later work on Diesel fuels continued up to the time of his death and led to many improvements

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in the injection systems of these engines and to a sound basic knowledge of the physical and thermal properties of a number of the hydrocarbon components of Diesel fuels. For several years prior to his death, Professor Vogt was very active in the research program on the control of smog-producing conditions in automotive engines, and served as coordinator of the extensive research program in this field at the Los Angeles campus. Closely related to his research were the professional engineering activities of Professor Vogt. These included participation in meetings and committees of the Society of Automotive Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Petroleum Institute, as well as consultation and advisory assignments for governmental agencies and private companies.

Carl Vogt was not only a research and professional engineer but, first and foremost, a teacher with a genuine concern for students as individuals and for their education. Over the years he taught elective courses in the fields of engineering, naval architecture and automotive engineering as well as participating in the teaching of basic courses required of all mechanical engineering students. He made an effort to provide students with aids to learning, including the writing of a syllabus on Diesel engines for U. S. Naval postgraduate students who studied at Berkeley during the 1930's, the editing of a syllabus for the senior design course, the translation of pertinent technical articles and texts, and the development of experiment stations for the laboratories. To an unusual degree, graduates who had studied under him have made it a point to see him on their occasional visits to the campus. He also served as advisor to a number of the student engineering professional and honor societies, including Tau Beta Pi, Pi Tau Sigma, the Society of Automotive Engineers, and the student branch of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Through insisting on a high level of performance, Professor Vogt contributed much to the development of these

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young men. His kindly but enigmatic approach to students led them to confer on him the title of “The Living Legend.”

Another facet of Carl Vogt's life was that related to the U. S. Naval Reserve. As a graduating student in engineering he was invited to participate in a cruise on the Admiral's Flagship and some time thereafter accepted a commission as Ensign. He became active in the Naval Reserve and had advanced to the rank of Lieutenant Commander by 1942 when he was selected by the Navy to establish and become the first head of the U. S. Naval Diesel Engineering School on the Berkeley campus. After a few months of successful operation of the school, he was transferred to Washington, D.C., to become Officer in Charge of Diesel Test and Development for the Bureau of Ships. In this capacity he worked with manufacturers in solving technical problems of the diesel engines used by the U. S. Navy. Toward the end of the conflict in the European Theater of War, Carl Vogt, by then a full commander, became a member of the U. S. Naval Technical Mission in Europe and was one of the first U. S. Officers to be sent into Germany to evaluate and exploit the technical accomplishments of German industry in research, development and production during World War II. Following his release to inactive duty in 1945, Carl Vogt returned to the Berkeley campus and assisted in the formation of Navy Research Reserve Company 12-5, in which he participated for a number of years. His advancement to the rank of Captain took place in 1949 and this rank was retained on his retirement from the Naval Reserve in 1959.

His colleagues will remember Carl Vogt as a person who willingly accepted assignments of many types and promptly executed the work involved. His efficient but friendly administration of the Division of Mechanical Engineering from 1946 to 1949 reflected his ability to get along with people of diverse interests in spite of three-term academic years, the “G.I. Bulge” and inadequate facilities. His service on many faculty

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and University committees was always accomplished thoroughly and with considerable insight. His unfailing cheerfulness and his wry sense of humor often concealed the discomfort of physical ailments from which he suffered for several years before his death.

Carl Vogt was married to Eva B. Bradley in 1931. He is survived by his wife, Eva, of Berkeley; their son, Carl James, Jr., of Santa Barbara; three grandchildren; his mother, Mrs. Bertha Vogt Hoffman, of Modesto; and his stepsister, Mrs. Kathryn Hoffman Colenso, also of Modesto.

E. D. Howe L. M. K. Boelter H. E. White

About this text
Courtesy of University Archives, The Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000; http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/info
http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb658006rx&brand=oac4
Title: 1966, University of California: In Memoriam
By: University of California (System) Academic Senate, Author
Date: April 1966
Contributing Institution: University Archives, The Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000; http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/info
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