He graduated from University of Washington in 1909 and later taught there as a professor of aeronautical engineering.
[4] The Kirsten Wind Tunnel at University of Washington was promoted by and named after him.
The metallic stem with its large inner diameter cools off the smoke while condensing moisture and supposedly removing harmful particles.
Kirsten first envisioned this propeller to be used in airplanes, but later realized it was more suited to be used in water.
[4] The propeller can be also used as a turbine, and some research has been done to improve Kirsten's original design in this domain.