The reinforced concrete will be science
Emil Mörsch was born in Reutlingen on April 30, 1872 as the son of a clothier. After finishing his studies at Polytechnikum (today called Technical University) in Stuttgart in 1894, he was first employed with the Württemberg road and water construction administration as a governmental foreman (Regierungsbauführer). In 1899, he was appointed governmental master builder (Regierungsbaumeister) and was employed by the bridge construction department of the Württemberg State Railway.
Conrad Freytag met him during a construction project in Stuttgart and, as a member of the board, entrusted him with the management of the Technical department of the Wayss & Freytag AG in Neustadt on February 1901. In this function he was not only in charge of the daily business, but also of the development of the scientific principles of the „concrete-steel combination“. On the basis of the Berlin tests, he dealt among others with the calculation of the elasticity of tension and compression of concrete structures with reinforcement, their shear and bending strength as well as the adhesion of reinforcement bars in concrete. In May 1902, he published a summary of his works in the first edition of his well-known publication „Der Betoneisenbau, seine Anwendung und Theorie“ (Concrete-Steel Construction, Application and Theory).
After a professorship at ETH Zurich (Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich) between 1904 and 1908, Emil Mörsch returned to W&F as a director and member of the board. In 1916, he accepted a professorship at the Technical University in Stuttgart as professor for Static calculation of solid supporting structures, arched bridges and concrete-steel construction, but, however, continued to work closely with Wayss & Freytag AG as a consultant.
Emil Mörsch was the outstanding pioneer of reinforced concrete construction in Germany. He also decisively influenced the development of prestressed concrete by making available the Freyssinet method to the broad public in his book „Der Spannbetonträger“ (The prestressed concrete girder). Mörsch died in Weil im Dorf near Stuttgart on December 29, 1950.