William M. Kaula, Professor of Geophysics at UCLA and one of the leading geophysicists and planetary physicists of the last four decades, died April 1.

Professor Kaula, 73 years of age, was the author of two pioneering and influential books, Theory of Satellite Geodesy (1966) and Introduction to Planetary Physics (1968). He published more than 250 papers on a broad range of subjects, including the implications of the gravity fields of the Earth and the terrestrial planets for their interior structures and dynamics, and the dynamical evolution of planets and satellites.

Professor Kaula's studies explored tidal evolution, chaotic dynamics, history and stability of planetesimal distributions, the formation of terrestrial planets through accretion, the formation of the solar system, the origin of the Moon, comparative planetology, the development of fast and accurate numerical schemes to follow solar system history and evolution, and the thermal history of terrestrial bodies -- especially Venus.

 Professor Kaula was a frequent participant in NASA missions, as team leader for the laser altimeter on Apollos 15, 16, and 17, and team member for the radar and gravity experiments on the Magellan spacecraft. He was chief of the National Geodetic Survey of NOAA from 1984 until 1987, editor of two major scientific journals, and chair of numerous academic and professional scientific committees.

At UCLA, Professor Kaula served as chair first for the Department of Geophysics and Space Physics (1972-1976), and thereafter for the Department of Earth and Space Sciences (1982-1984). He also served as Chair of the Council on Academic Personnel of the university's Academic Senate.

Professor Kaula was born in 1926 in Sydney, Australia. As a youngster, he travelled with his family to New Zealand, Holland, and the U.S., finally spending most of his youth in Massachusetts. He attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and graduated with a B.S. in Military Engineering in 1948. After military service and studies at Ohio State University, he received a Master of Science degree in Geodesy in 1953.

Professor Kaula was named chief of the Division of Geodesy of the Army Map Service in 1957, and became a research scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in 1960. He joined the UCLA faculty as a professor of geophysics in 1963, a position he held for 30 years. He retired in 1993 but remained active in his field for the rest of his life.

 Professor Kaula's scientific contributions were recognized by numerous honors and awards including Fellowship in the American Geophysical Union (1964), an honorary Doctor of Science from Ohio State University (1975), and the NASA Medal for exceptional scientific achievement (1983). In 1987, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, received the Whitten Medal of the American Geophysical Union, and the Brouwer Medal of the American Astronomical Society. In 1996 the asteroid #5685 was officially named Kaula in his honor.

Professor Kaula was President of the Geodesy Section of the American Geophysical Union, and Chair of the Division of Dynamical Astronomy of the American Astronomical Society.

 William Kaula was particularly proud of two achievements. He was the first person for a period of fifteen years to receive a tenured appointment in the physical sciences at UCLA without a Ph.D. degree, and there has been no other such appointment since. He was also the first graduate of West Point to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences since George Squires, Chief of the Signal Corps in 1919.

Kaula is survived by his wife, Gene Hurley Kaula, children, Anne Shapiro, Jaqueline Kaula, Marie Bleochle, Don Jensen, Janet Jensen, and Patty Schwartz, and nine grandchildren.

Contributions in his honor can be sent to the UCLA Foundation/ESS for the William M. Kaula Memorial Fund, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567, Attn: Barbara Widowski, or to the American Geophysical Union, Executive Offices, 2000 Florida Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20009, in honor of William M. Kaula.

- UCLA -

Last updated on November 29, 2000