Hans D. Baumann, a Process Automation Hall of Fame member since 2009, passed away at home on March 25, 2025. He was 94.
As a world-renowned expert on control valves, he was awarded more than 150 patents, wrote and co-wrote several books, and authored more than 200 academic papers and professional articles. He was also a successful entrepreneur, who started and ran several companies.
Baumann is known for his work in fluid dynamics and associated sound phenomena. He is credited with creating several internationally recognized concepts, equations and standards. He continued publishing articles and academic papers well into his later years, as well as developing two novel noise-prediction methods for control valves.
He was an honorary member of the International Society of Automation (ISA), life fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), honorary life member of the Fluid Controls Institute (FCI), and member of Sigma Xi. He was named by InTech magazine one of the 50 most important innovators.
A resident of Palm Beach, Fla., Baumann served as a board member of the Palm Beach Opera, member of the Palm Beach Pundits, the Old Guard Society, Le Club InterContinental of Palm Beach, and the Palm Beach Yacht Club. He was a patron and supporter of the Palm Beach Symphony and the Palm Beach Opera.
He spent his formative years in war-torn Germany, and later availed himself of an opportunity, under the Marshall Plan, to study in the U.S. He and his late-wife, Sigrid, spent much of their lives in New England and Florida.
He is survived by his two children, five grandchildren, and a great-grandson.
