William M. Kaula
{{Short description|American geophysicist}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = William Mason Kaula
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1926|5|19|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Sydney, Australia
| nationality = Australian, American
| death_date = {{death date and age|2000|4|1|1926|5|19|mf=y}}
| death_place = Los Angeles
| fields = Geodesy, Geophysics, Planetary science
| work_institutions = University of California at Los Angeles,
Goddard Space Flight Center,
National Geodetic Survey,
United States Army Corps of Engineers
| alma_mater = United States Military Academy,
Ohio State University
| known_for = Satellite geodesy
}}
William M. Kaula (May 19, 1926 – April 1, 2000) was an Australian-born American geophysicist and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Kaula was most notable for his contributions to geodesy, including using early satellites to produce maps of Earth's gravity. The National Academies Press called Kaula "the father of space-based geodesy". The Los Angeles Times called him "one of the leading planetary physicists of the last four decades".
Education and early career
He graduated from West Point (the top military school in the United States) in 1948 with a B.S. in Military Engineering, then served in the Army Corps of Engineers, leading a topographic survey of New Britain, an island in the Pacific. Kaula received a 1953 M.S. degree from Ohio State University in geodesy. In 1958 he was named chief of the Division of Geodesy of the Army Map Service. From 1960 – 1963 Kaula was a research scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.[https://history.aip.org/phn/11602034.html biography] at AIP Physics History Network
UCLA professor
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 on Apollo 15,[https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/experiment/display.action?id=1971-063A-05 Laser Altimeter] at NSSDC 16, and 17. Kaula was a member of the National Research Council Space Science Board on two occasions. From 1984 – 1987 he led the National Geodetic Survey in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.[https://history.aip.org/phn/11602034.html biography] at AIP Physics History Network
Honors and legacy
He was a fellow (1964) and recipient of the Whitten Medal of the American Geophysical Union, the Brouwer Award of the American Astronomical Society, Guggenheim fellowship (1978),[https://www.gf.org/fellows/william-m-kaula/ Kaula] at gf.org and NASA Medal for exceptional scientific achievement (1983).
He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences for his scientific contributions notwithstanding his not having a doctorate, a rare such instance.
Asteroid 5485 Kaula is named after him.[https://baas.aas.org/pub/william-mason-kaula-1926-2000/release/1 obituary] at Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society
The American Geophysical Union instituted the William Kaula Award (2003) in his honor.[https://www.agu.org/learn-about-agu/about-agu/governance/committees/honors-recognition-committee/kaula-committee honors recognition] at AGU
Selected publications
- [https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/JZ064i012p02401 Statistical and Harmonic Analysis of Gravity] (1959) Journal of Geophysical Research Volume 64, Issue 12
- [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112106744136&seq=1 Analysis of Gravitational and Geometric Aspects of Geodetic Utilization of Satellites] (1961) NASA Technical Note D-572
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=DROOUY28OdQC A Geoid and World Geodetic System based on a combination of gravimetric, astro-geodetic, and satellite data] (1961) NASA Technical Note D-702
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=LU5GAAAAYAAJ Celestial Geodesy] (1962) NASA Technical Note D-1155
- [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=G4rrzFfNQMMC A review of geodetic parameters] (1963) NASA Technical Note D-1847
- [https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/JZ068i002p00473 Tesseral harmonics of the gravitational field and geodetic datum shifts derived from camera observations of satellites] (1963) Journal of Geophysical Research
- [https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/JZ068i018p05183 Improved geodetic results from camera observations of satellites] (1963) Journal of Geophysical Research
- [https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/RG001i004p00507 Determination of the Earth's gravitational field] (1963) Reviews of Geophysics Volume 1, Issue 4
- Theory of Satellite Geodesy; applications of satellites to geodesy (1966) Blaisdell Publishing {{OCLC|638003814}}
- An Introduction to Planetary Physics; the terrestrial planets (1968) Wiley {{ISBN|9780471460701}}
- [https://ilrs.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/williamstown_1968.pdf The Terrestrial Environment: Solid Earth and Ocean Physics] (1970) NASA Conference Report 1579
- [https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/20038/geodesy-trends-and-prospects Geodesy: trends and prospects] (1978) National Academies Press
- [https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/EO060i023p00484 Applications of Geodesy to Geodynamics: 1. Geodesy for Geodynamics, Progress and Problems] (1979) Eos, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union Volume 60, Issue 23
- [https://www.nature.com/articles/303756a0 Earth science: The changing shape of the Earth] (1983) Nature Volume 303, Issue 5920:756
- [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2873539 Venus: a contrast in evolution to Earth] (1990) Science 247:1191-96
- [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0019103599960827 Constraints on Venus evolution from radiogenic argon] (1999) Icarus 139:32-39
References
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External links
- Turcotte, Donald L. (2002) [http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/kaula-william-m.pdf "William M. Kaula"], Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences
- [https://slideplayer.com/slide/9775502/ Seven Ages of a Planet] at slideplayer.com
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaula, William M.}}
Category:American geophysicists
Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Category:American people of Australian descent