Loren W Neubauer

Education

Neubauer was born in 1904 in St. James, Minnesota to parents John Neubauer (b1880) and Inez Emma Ramsey Neubauer (b1883). Neubauer lived in and attended primary, secondary schools in St. Paul, Minnesota, and attended the University of Minnesota, where he was awarded a BS in Civil Engineering with distinction in 1926, a MS in Hydraulic Engineering in 1932. He went on to teach engineering at UC Davis, and while there, completed his studies to receive a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1948.

Early career

Neubauer worked briefly as an inspector in the U.S. Engineer's office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While a graduate student he taught mathematics and mechanics, served as a draftsman in geography, and instructor in agricultural engineering. In 1936 when he went to work as an engineer for the Works Progress Administration, he had to ask permission from the Regents even though he was an unpaid instructor at the time. When he returned to the university his salary increased. He had also worked as an assistant highway engineer for the Aitkin Company and a surveyor for the U.S. Engineer's office in St. Paul.

Solar energy

Neubauer's interest in solar energy had begun as a child. Watching the sun and shadows moving on a sundial and observing the clever use of the sun in orientation and design of hog pens on his grandfather’s farm to help keep pigs cool in summer and warm in winter made sense to him. He also saw how simple windows could be powerful solar collectors when they melted his favorite rubber boots. But his solar research really took off at UC Davis with the influence and interest of other faculty members, particularly his colleague in agricultural engineering Dr. Fredrick A. Brooks (1895-1967) and architect Richard D. Cramer (1919-2000). Brooks had been involved in solar and microclimate research for many years and had produced an excellent report on solar water heating in California in 1936. He was also interested in solar heating for homes. Brooks' microclimate approach combined with Neubauer’s research skills and experience and interest led to a series of studies on the use of the sun for heating and solar control and microclimate resources for cooling. (See Publications.)

Neubauer’s expertise and enthusiasm helped stimulate and support a series of key studies in the 1970s including a local climate adapted building code in "A Strategy for Energy Conservation" (1974), plans for a daylit naturally heated, cooled and ventilated state office building that would have used only 12% of the energy of a conventional office building design (1976), "The Davis Energy Conservation Report" (1977), and a final paper on the potential to reduce energy use dramatically simply by placing windows wisely. As noted in discussions about his award as the Passive Solar Pioneer in 1981 from the American Solar Energy Society, Neubauer provided the voice of authority that helped convince the city council, builders, and citizens that a climatically adapted building code made sense. The team who wrote the Davis Energy Conservation Report, Neubauer, Cramer, Hammond and Hunt, were also given an award by First Lady Rosalynn Carter in 1981. Neubauer's solar research and contributions also were applied to plant research. He helped develop, refine and improve a sun tracking greenhouse for experiments. This phytotron increased solar gain and improved solar control for experimental purposes.

Neubauer also applied his energy, expertise and research to improve profits and the quality of life on the farm. His concern for farm family comfort and health was in part a reflection of his experience on his grandfather’s farm as a child. Early in his career at the University of Minnesota he prepared reports on farm home and shop design and other extension materials. Applying passive solar design to farm houses and animal shelters benefited farm families and farm animals across the country and around the world. Early in his career at the University of California he developed a series of plan sets for a range of farm building types and worked on the economics of labor. He also applied his understanding of buildings and microclimate to potato storage. His farm experience was collected and refined in a book with Harry Walker, Farm Building Design. This was well regarded and used as a textbook. His interests also included more sustainable building materials including adobe, rammed earth, and sawdust concrete.

Structural engineering

Neubauer is perhaps best known for his work on strength formulas and methods of calculation. In 1974 he received the L. J. Markwart Wood Engineering Award from the Forest Products Society for “A Realistic and Continuous Wood Column Formula.” His contributions also included a range of other formulas and methods for calculation These included papers on the use of computers in column design, systematic analysis of column design and wood frame construction issues and a confirmation of the value of the cubic Rankine-Gordon method for shorter columns. His work on structures also earned him an award from the American Society of Agricultural Engineers.

Publications

Personal

Neubauer married Lorraine Prentice in 1926. They had one daughter.