engineering

Harry Hopkins (engineer)

Harry Hopkins (engineer) is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Harry Hopkins (engineer) rather than just read about it. In short: Henry James Hopkins (11 August 1912 – 9 January 1986) was a New Zealand civil engineer and university professor. He was born in Dwellingup, Western Australia, Australia on 11 August 1912.

Key takeaways

Harry Hopkins (engineer) belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Harry Hopkins (engineer) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Harry Hopkins (engineer) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Henry James Hopkins (11 August 1912 – 9 January 1986) was a New Zealand civil engineer and university professor. He was born in Dwellingup, Western Australia, Australia on 11 August 1912. In the 1980 New Year Honours, Hopkins was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

References

1912: Born Dwellingup, Western Australia, 11 August. 1920-24: Scotch College, Perth, West Australia 1925-28: Guildford Grammar, Perth. 1929-33: University of Western Australia (BE, BSc). Hockey captain and cricket player. 1934: Awarded Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University – Brasenose College. MA (Oxon) 1937-38: Engineering Assistant, Air Ministry Works Department, England. 1938-40: Structural Engineer, Bridge Department Southern Railway, England. 1940 – 45: Royal Air Force pilot and instructor flying Mosquito and Halifax aircraft.

Awarded DFC.

1946-7: Chief Structural Engineer, Courtaulds Limited, London. 1948 – 51: Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering, University of Western Australia, Perth. 1951-78: Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Canterbury, Christchurch. Responsible for Civil Engineering Department. Dean of Faculty of Engineering 1955-58 and 1964-67. Chairman of Centennial Executive Committee. Taught structural mechanics, reinforced concrete, bridge design and history of civil engineering. Led Civil Engineering Department to achieve international renown. Appointed Professors Bob Park and Tom Paulay and encouraged their development. 1954: Member Royal Commission of Enquiry into Tangiwai Rail Disaster, NZ 1959 and 1968: Sabbaticals to USA, UK and Europe studying history of bridges. 1963-64: Chairman Advisory Panel of Engineers for Lyttelton Road Tunnel. 1966-67: President of New Zealand Institution of Professional Engineers. Council Member 1957-58 and 1961- 68. Fulton Gold Medal 1953 and Special Award 1957. 1970: Published A Span of Bridges – an illustrated history. 1978: Inaugural Hopkins Lecture: A Land of Bridges – The Story of New Zealand 1979: Retired from position at University of Canterbury. 1979-1986: Research for book on NZ bridges – not published. 1980: Awarded OBE for services to engineering. Elected to receive insignia from Queen Mother because of war associations. Harry Hopkins met Dorothy Louise Trott, from Bermuda, a fellow student at Oxford. They were married on 21 July 1938 and had four sons, Brian, David, Andrew, Tim and a daughter, Jill. Harry was a keen cricketer and played senior cricket in Christchurch, captaining the West Christchurch–University team. He also played hockey for West Australia. Dorothy died on 20 November 1984 and Harry on 9 January 1986.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Harry Hopkins (engineer)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Harry Hopkins (engineer) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Harry Hopkins (engineer) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Harry Hopkins (engineer) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Harry Hopkins (engineer)

In research: Harry Hopkins (engineer) appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Harry Hopkins (engineer) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Harry Hopkins (engineer) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1912 births, 1986 deaths, 20th-century New Zealand engineers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Harry Hopkins (engineer) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Harry Hopkins (engineer) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Harry Hopkins (engineer) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Harry Hopkins (engineer) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Harry Hopkins (engineer) in simple terms?

Henry James Hopkins (11 August 1912 – 9 January 1986) was a New Zealand civil engineer and university professor. He was born in Dwellingup, Western Australia, Australia on 11 August 1912.

Why does Harry Hopkins (engineer) matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Harry Hopkins (engineer)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Harry Hopkins (engineer).