William Mason Kaula | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1926-05-19)May 19, 1926 |
| Died | April 1, 2000(2000-04-01) (aged 73) |
| Alma mater | United States Military Academy, Ohio State University |
| Known for | Satellite geodesy |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Geodesy,Geophysics,Planetary science |
| Institutions | University of California at Los Angeles, Goddard Space Flight Center, National Geodetic Survey, United States Army Corps of Engineers |
William M. Kaula (May 19, 1926 – April 1, 2000) was anAustralian-bornAmericangeophysicist and professor at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles.[1][2][3][4][5]Kaula was most notable for his contributions togeodesy, including using earlysatellites to produce maps ofEarth's gravity.[1] TheNational Academies Press called Kaula "the father ofspace-based geodesy".[2] TheLos Angeles Times called him "one of the leadingplanetary physicists of the last four decades".[4]
He graduated fromWest Point (the top military school in theUnited States) in 1948 with a B.S. in Military Engineering, then served in theArmy Corps of Engineers, leading a topographic survey ofNew Britain, an island in the Pacific. Kaula received a 1953 M.S. degree fromOhio State University ingeodesy. In 1958 he was named chief of the Division of Geodesy of theArmy Map Service. From 1960 – 1963 Kaula was a research scientist at NASAGoddard Space Flight Center.[6]
Kaula was Professor of Geophysics at the Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics, UCLA (1963 – 1992). He was a participant in several NASA missions, including as Laser Altimeter principal investigator onApollo 15,[7]16, and17.[4] Kaula was a member of the National Research Council Space Science Board on two occasions. From 1984 – 1987 he led theNational Geodetic Survey in theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.[8]
He was a fellow (1964) and recipient of theWhitten Medal of theAmerican Geophysical Union, theBrouwer Award of theAmerican Astronomical Society,[2]Guggenheim fellowship (1978),[9] and NASA Medal for exceptional scientific achievement (1983).He was elected to theNational Academy of Sciences for his scientific contributions notwithstanding his not having a doctorate, a rare such instance.[2] Asteroid5485 Kaula is named after him.[10] The American Geophysical Union instituted the William Kaula Award (2003) in his honor.[11]
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