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The Swiss engineer and inventor known worldwide as the father of turbocharging, Alfred J. Buechi was born July 11, 1879 in Winterthur, Switzerland, growing up there and in Ludwigshafen. Son of Johann Buechi, a chief executive at Swiss industrial engineering and manufacturing firm Sulzer, Alfred was perhaps destined to pursue a similar field and would eventually achieve world renown status as a result of his inventions. In 1899 he enrolled as a machine engineering student at Federal Polytechnic Institute (ETH) in Zürich, receiving a diploma in 1903. From there he practiced engineering in Belgium and England before returning to Switzerland (Wetzikon) in 1908. (1)

During these early years outside of Switzerland Buechi became fascinated with the challenge of improving combustion engine efficiency relating to exhaust heat loss.

Buechi's patent - No. 204630 received from the Imperial Patent Office of the German Reich on November 16, 1905 - (7) describes a “highly supercharged compound engine” with a solution to capture such heat using an "axial compressor, radial piston engine and axial turbine on a common shaft". (2)

The idea was simple yet so ahead of its time that the materials and fuels required for it to function were not yet available. (4) While a later patent (1925) - describing "pulse operation for low-pressure supercharging" (3) - is considered his landmark, due to Buechi's invention the year 1905 is thus acknowledged as the birth of the turbocharging era. Buechi’s principles in 1905 remain the same for turbocharging today. Power and efficiency are improved "by forcing additional air into the cylinders, with the heat from the exhaust gas used to drive the turbine". (2)

Joining Sulzer in 1909, Buechi researched diesel engines while continuing to investigate turbocharging innovations, focusing on large marine applications. In 1911 Sulzer opened an experimental turbocharger plant, and Buechi's first prototype was produced in 1915. Intending to mitigate effects of thin air in high altitude for airplane engines, this version was not able to maintain consistent boost pressure. (2)

Buechi went on to lead the Sulzer diesel department during 1918-19.

Nearly two decades later, Buechi's invention at last achieved practical application. The first use of turbocharging technology was for large marine engines, when the German Ministry of Transport commissioned the construction of the "Danzig" and "Preussen" passenger liners in 1923. Both ships featured twin ten-cylinder diesel engines with output boosted from 1750 to 2500 horsepower by turbocharger technology. (7)

Eventually near the end of his tenure at the firm, in 1925 Buechi for the first time succeeded in combining his technology with a diesel engine, increasing efficiency by over 40%, (2) the same year filing this breakthrough under his own name ("Buechi-Duplex turbocharging system") as Swiss patent number 122 664 (5 - p.61). In 1926 he left Sulzer and a new company known as the “Buechi Syndicate” was established, in which Buechi headed engineering and customer relations, Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works (SLM) in Winterthur provided engines for testing, and Brown Boveri (BBC) (now ABB) in Baden built turbochargers. (3) The same year Buechi also became Director of SLM. (1)

Two years later Buechi's new, larger turbocharger design yielded significantly improved results, leading to an increase in licensing agreements with top engine builders. (3)

[ TO FILL IN: - Applications (rail, air, marine, truck) & Buechi's direct involvement / influence (1930s) - see (2) ]

In 1938 Buechi was awarded an honorary doctorate from ETH Zurich.

The Buechi Syndicate stayed together until 1941 when BBC continued turbo-related operations under its own name. (5 - p.62)

Turbocharging for automobiles was first attempted in the late 1950s. (7)

Alfred Buechi died October 27, 1959 and was buried in Winterthur's Rosenberg cemetery.

In summer 2012 the city of Winterthur celebrated the inventor and pioneer with the inauguration of the road "Alfred Buechi Way" in Neuwiesenquartier. (6)

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(1) Buergi, Markus - Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (2003) http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D6223.php

(2) Scoltock, James - Automotive Engineering Milestones (2010) http://ae-plus.com/milestones/alfred-bchi-the-inventor-of-the-turbocharger/page:2

(3) Summers, Malcolm - 'Perpetual Pioneering' ABB Review (2007) - ABB Turbocharger history and milestones http://library.abb.com/global/scot/scot271.nsf/veritydisplay/90afc44dee46dde9c12572ff002fc62c/$File/85-90%202M750_ENG72dpi.pdf

(4) Rossbach, Dieter - "Vor 100 Jahren: Alfred Büchi erhält das Patent auf den Turbomotor" - Prova Magazin fuer Automobile Avantgarde (2005) http://www.prova.de/archiv/2005/00-artikel/0132-buechi-turbo/index.shtml

(5) Eckardt, Dietrich - Gas Turbine Powerhouse: The Development of the Power Generation Gas Turbine at BBC - ABB - Alstom - pp.61-3 https://books.google.ch/books?id=_VTpBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA61&lpg=PA61&dq=alfred+buechi&source=bl&ots=O5obelmnmj&sig=6-WJsJNj8iR9NeWsTEacyC8VvXA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=a5qzVPWsJMv2O5qggfAL&ved=0CDMQ6AEwBTgK#v=onepage&q=alfred%20buechi&f=false

(6) Winterthur Glossary - http://www.winterthur-glossar.ch/app/default/pub/fw.action/wine.article?ce_id=68&ce_name=Person

(7) Hanlon, Mike - Gizmag, 'The turbocharger turns 100 years old this week' - http://www.gizmag.com/go/4848/