Also he was elected as an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics
and Astronautics and in 1999 he received the Otto C. Winzen Lifetime Achievement
Award. In 2009 he was inducted into the U.S. Ballooning Hall of Fame.
Walter Orr Roberts
Born August 20, 1915
Died August 12, 1990
He was an American astronomer and atmospheric physicist, as well as an educator, philanthropist, and builder.
He received a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Amherst College in 1938, and
a Masters and a Ph.D. in Astronomy from Harvard University in 1940 and 1943
respectively. From 1940 to 1946 he was superintendent of the Climax Observing
Station, Harvard College Observatory, in Climax Colorado. In 1946 the Climax
Harvard College Observatory incorporated with the University of Colorado and
was renamed the High Altitude Observatory (HAO) and he became its founding
director, holding that position until 1961.
In 1960, after the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
was established, Roberts was elected its first president. Boulder was chosen as the
site for the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and he was named
its inaugural director in 1960 (while continuing to direct the HAO). The NCAR
was established by UCAR in partnership with the National Science Foundation
(NSF). It was that same year that he invoked a meeting in December of government and university users to discuss scientific ballooning. The conclusions of this
meeting were to establish a Balloon Engineering Group and appoint the NCAR
Panel on Scientific Use of Balloons. This led to the establishment of a nucleus of
people that established the National Scientific Balloon Facility (NSBF) in Boulder,
CO in 1961 under the auspices of the NSF. Eventually this was moved to Palestine,
TX, and today it is called the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility.
Roberts received many national and international awards, including having the
minor planet 3428 Roberts named after him.
274 Appendix 2: Scientists and Engineers in Ballooning
and Astronautics and in 1999 he received the Otto C. Winzen Lifetime Achievement
Award. In 2009 he was inducted into the U.S. Ballooning Hall of Fame.
Walter Orr Roberts
Born August 20, 1915
Died August 12, 1990
He was an American astronomer and atmospheric physicist, as well as an educator, philanthropist, and builder.
He received a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Amherst College in 1938, and
a Masters and a Ph.D. in Astronomy from Harvard University in 1940 and 1943
respectively. From 1940 to 1946 he was superintendent of the Climax Observing
Station, Harvard College Observatory, in Climax Colorado. In 1946 the Climax
Harvard College Observatory incorporated with the University of Colorado and
was renamed the High Altitude Observatory (HAO) and he became its founding
director, holding that position until 1961.
In 1960, after the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
was established, Roberts was elected its first president. Boulder was chosen as the
site for the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and he was named
its inaugural director in 1960 (while continuing to direct the HAO). The NCAR
was established by UCAR in partnership with the National Science Foundation
(NSF). It was that same year that he invoked a meeting in December of government and university users to discuss scientific ballooning. The conclusions of this
meeting were to establish a Balloon Engineering Group and appoint the NCAR
Panel on Scientific Use of Balloons. This led to the establishment of a nucleus of
people that established the National Scientific Balloon Facility (NSBF) in Boulder,
CO in 1961 under the auspices of the NSF. Eventually this was moved to Palestine,
TX, and today it is called the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility.
Roberts received many national and international awards, including having the
minor planet 3428 Roberts named after him.
274 Appendix 2: Scientists and Engineers in Ballooning