Vilho Väisälä | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1889-09-28)September 28, 1889 |
| Died | August 12, 1969(1969-08-12) (aged 79) Helsinki, Finland |
| Awards | Commander of the Order of the White Rose of Finland (1946) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | meteorology physics |
| Institutions | Vaisala Oyj Finnish Meteorological Institute University of Helsinki |
| Thesis | Ensimmäisen lajin elliptisen integralin käänteisfunktion yksikäsitteisyys(The single-valuedness of the inverse function of the elliptic integral of the first kind) |
Vilho Väisälä (Finnish pronunciation:[ˈʋilhoˈʋæi̯sælæ]; September 28, 1889 – August 12, 1969) was a Finnishmeteorologist andphysicist, and founder ofVaisala Oyj.
After graduation in mathematics in 1912, Väisälä worked for theFinnish Meteorological Institute inaerological measurements, specializing in the research of the highertroposphere. At the time the measurements were conducted by attaching athermograph to a kite.
In 1917 he published his dissertation in mathematicsEnsimmäisen lajin elliptisen integralin käänteisfunktion yksikäsitteisyys (The single-valuedness of the inverse function of the elliptic integral of the first kind).[1] His dissertation was the first and still is the only mathematical doctoral thesis written in the Finnish language.[2]
Väisälä participated in development ofradiosonde, a device attached to a balloon and launched to measure air in the higher atmosphere. In 1936 he started hisown company, manufacturing radiosondes and — later — other meteorological instruments.
In 1948 Väisälä was nominated a Professor of Meteorology in theUniversity of Helsinki.
Vilho Väisälä's two brothers,Kalle Väisälä andYrjö Väisälä, also made successful careers in science.
Vilho Väisälä knewEsperanto, and played an active role in theEsperanto movement. During theWorld Congress of Esperanto of 1969, which was held inHelsinki shortly before his death, he served as the rector of the so-calledInternacia Kongresa Universitato ("International Congressual University"), and coordinated the specialistic lectures in Esperanto given by various academicians to the congressists.
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