AKA Mayo Dyer Hersey

Born: 30-Aug-1886
Birthplace: Pawtuxet Neck, RI
Died: 5-Sep-1978
Location of death: Providence, RI
Cause of death: unspecified

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Engineer, Cartoonist

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Tribology

American engineer Mayo D. Hersey calculated a mathematical formula to determine friction due to viscous shear, now called by engineers the Hersey number. He was considered among the world's foremost authorities on tribology, the study of interacting moving surfaces such as gears, and related factors including corrosion, erosion, friction, lubrication, and viscosity. He is the namesake (and was the first recipient) of the Hersey Award, presented annually since 1965 by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for scientific accomplishments related to lubrication. His wife, Frances Lester Warner, was a well-known author of humorous novels, some of which were illustrated by Hersey's drawings.

Wife: Frances Lester Warner Hersey (author)

    University: BA, Colorado College (1907)
    University: BS Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1910)
    University: MA Physics, Olivet College (1910)
    Teacher: Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1910-22)
    Teacher: Engineering, Brown University (1934-36)
    Scholar: Columbia University (1943-45)
    Scholar: Naval Engineering Experiment Station, US Naval Academy (1947-57)
    Professor: Engineering, Brown University (1957-78)

    ASME Medal 1967
    US Official Lab Chief, US Bureau of Mines (1922-26)
    National Institute of Standards and Technology Physicist (1910-20, 1936-51)
    Manhattan Project
    American Society of Mechanical Engineers

Author of books:
Theory of Lubrication (1936)

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