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JoHN V. WeHaUseN
1913–2005
elected in 1980
“For contributions in applied mathematics and its use in
solving important engineering problems in ship design.”
BY RONALD W. YEUNG, SARAH WIKANDER, AND
J. raNdolPH PaUlliNg
JoHN VroMaN WeHaUseN, professor of engineering
science, emeritus, at the University of california, Berkeley,
and a world leader in the field of marine hydrodynamics, died
peacefully at the Kaiser Oakland Medical Center on October 6,
2005, at the age of 92.
John Wehausen was born on september 23, 1913, in
duluth, Minnesota, and grew up in oak Park, illinois. at the
University of Michigan he received his undergraduate degree
in mathematics in 1934, followed by a master’s in physics in
1935, and a doctorate in mathematics in 1938.
In 1937, Wehausen began his first teaching position as an
instructor in mathematics at Brown University. it was there
that he met his future wife, Mary Katherine Wertime, a Ph.D.
candidate in mathematics. They had been married 62 years
when she passed away in January 2001.
after holding teaching positions at columbia University
and the University of Missouri, Wehausen contributed to the
government’s efforts at the end of World War ii by working
for the U.s. Navy in operations research. He joined the david
Taylor Model Basin in Bethesda, Maryland, as a mathematician
and, during his three-year tenure there, met george Weinblum,
the renowned german ship hydrodynamicist. His interest in
water-wave theory and ship hydrodynamics can be traced to
that time and mentor.
Used with the permission of the academic senate of the University of california.
409
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410 MeMorial TriBUTes
Wehausen’s training in mathematics and his exceptional
language abilities were recognized when he was selected
as executive editor of Mathematical Reviews in 1950, a post
he held until 1956, when he was recruited by Uc Berkeley.
There he helped establish the department of Naval
architecture, developing a graduate-degree program that
stressed hydrodynamics and structural mechanics in the
marine field. That rigorous academic curriculum eventually
became a model for similar programs worldwide. in 1996 the
department became a graduate group in ocean engineering
within the graduate division. starting in the fall of 2005, the
group became a major field of study within UC Berkeley’s
department of Mechanical engineering.
Besides being a popular and dedicated teacher, Wehausen
contributed to original scientific research in the areas of ship
waves, ship maneuverability, floating systems in waves,
and ship-generated solitary waves. He was an advocate of
systematic theoretical analysis based on rational mechanics
principles. in an era when engineers are building container
ships with capacities of 10,000 containers, floating offshore oil
production systems for operation in water depths exceeding
2,000 meters, and marine vehicles that travel at extreme
speeds in high sea states, his visionary approach based on first
principles has become all the more important.
His review articles are especially highly regarded. in 1960
he published the 350-page article “Surface Waves” (with the
late Uc Berkeley Professor edmund laitone) in Handbuch der
Physik. This synthesis of the field has had such a wide and
long-lasting impact that it was republished in 2002 in an online
version to provide free access for a worldwide audience (http://
www.coe.berkeley.eduSurfaceWaves). Two other authoritative
reviews—“The Wave Resistance of Ships” in Advances in
Applied Mechanics (1974) and “The Motion of Floating Bodies”
in Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics (1972)—are considered
classics in his field.
Wehausen retired from Uc Berkeley in 1984, but for many
years remained active in research and university affairs. among
his other activities, he chaired the committee on Memorial
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411
JoHN V. WeHaUseN
resolutions of the academic senate from 1991 to 1997. He
was a member of the National academy of engineering and
a life fellow of the society of Naval architects and Marine
Engineers, which awarded him the Kenneth Davidson Medal
for outstanding scientific accomplishment in research. Among
the many other honors he earned throughout his career was an
honorary doctorate degree from the Joseph fourier University
in grenoble, france, where he had taught during a sabbatical
leave.
in June 2002 international colleagues and former students
paid tribute to Wehausen by organizing a special symposium
during the offshore Mechanics and arctic engineering
conference in oslo, Norway. at that event he was awarded
the lifetime achievement award of the american society of
Mechanical engineers international.
Wehausen had a great interest in languages. He was fluent
in german and french, read russian well, and had a working
knowledge of other Western european and slavic languages.
To try his hand at a non-indo-european language, he studied
Turkish and lectured in that language during a sabbatical leave
at the Technical University of istanbul. for many years he read
daily papers in three languages. He wrote articles in french
and german and gave lectures in these languages. He also
had a great love for classical music, which was strengthened
by Kay Wehausen’s musical background and training. That
love was passed on to their four children. after moving to
Berkeley, he taught himself the recorder and bought the family
a harpsichord so they could play chamber music together.
Wehausen is survived by his four children—sarah Wikander
and her husband carl, Peter Wehausen and his wife suzanne,
Julia Wenk and her husband rudy, and John Wehausen and
his wife carolyn—and by six grandchildren and one great-
grandson.
in June 2006, thanks to the generosity of family, friends, and
former students, a John V. Wehausen Memorial endowment
was established at the Uc Berkeley foundation to provide
a scholarship for graduate study in Wehausen’s areas of
professional interest.
