Wisler, C.O.

Photograph

name Photograph needed for C O Wisler

Dates

Chester Owen Wisler 1881 (Nappanee, IN, USA) - 1961 (Ann Arbor MI/USA)

Biography

C hester Owen Wisler obtained his BCE in 1913 and the MSE in 1915 from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI. He commenced an instructorship at his Alma Mater, later becoming a professor of civil engineering, which has been considered of notably high quality and had profoundly contributed to the Faculty. In the affairs of the University and of his College he has participated effectively through his membership on numerous committees, among which his service as a Board member of Directors of the Michigan Union, and as its financial secretary. Wisler had been a loyal and valued faculty member. An excellent teacher, he maintained an active connection with the professional practice by serving as consultant on the water power and flood study problems to numerous organisations in the Michigan region. He was wider known in the US by several publications in the mentioned fields. Not only for his attainments as engineer and teacher of several generations of engineers, but also by its many excellent qualities of character and personality, Wisler merited the friendship and respect accorded him by his students and colleagues.

Hydrological Achievements

The book Hydrology co-authored by Ernest Frederick Brater (1912-2003) includes chapters on runoff, floods, and streamflow records. Wisler also supported Horace Williams King (1874-1951) in writing the well-known book Hydraulics, one of the key publications in the early 20th century. The 1942 paper describes the successful use of a direct method in flood routing, which depends mainly on the availability of streamflow records during a flood at various points of the main stream. No cross-sections of stream channels or flow velocities are required, however, nor discharge records on all of the tributaries. An inflow hydrograph from the unmeasured area may directly be computed. This discharge and that at each of the upstream stations is then routed downstream. These discharges indicate the extent to which each of the upper tributaries contribute to the flood peak at each downstream point. A check on the accuracy of the results was provided by adding the routed discharges and comparing the resulting hydrograph with the actual records.

Reference Material

Source: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.1201/b18854-488/wisler-willi-hager

Selected Publications

King, H.W., Wisler, C.O. (1922). Hydraulics. Wiley: New Y

Wisler, C.O., Brater, E.F. (1942). A direct method of flood routing. Trans. ASCE 107: 1519-1562.

Wisler, C.O., Brater, E.F. (1949). Hydrology. Wiley: New York, 2nd ed. in 1959.