Kuettner, Joachim P.

Biography

Dr. Joachim Kuettner (September 21, 1909 - February 24, 2011), was a German-American atmospheric scientist. Born and raised in Breslau Germany, Joachim Kuettner completed a doctorate in law and economics at age 21. Dr. Kuettner's early career as a lawyer was short lived as he viewed the field of law as too tied to the politics of the time. Dr. Kuettner switched gears to earn a second doctorate, this time in meteorology from the University of Hamburg. For his dissertation, he deployed 25 instrumented gliders to gather data on foehn waves, representing the first scientific study that described the emergence and formation of lee waves. He also set a world altitude record for gliders, soaring without oxygen - and with numb feet and blue fingers - to 6,800 meters (22,300 feet). During the Second World War Dr. Kuettner was employed as a test pilot for the German Air Force. During this time Kuettner flight-tested the world's largest glider, the Gigant, narrowly escaping death as the plane broke apart in flight and his parachute opened just 200 meters (660 feet) above ground. After the war, "I wanted to go to a mountaintop and be alone," Kuettner recalled. He spent three years studying many atmospheric phenomena, including thunderstorm electricity, at the observatory atop the Zugspitze, the highest point in Germany. In 1948 Dr. Kuettner came to the United States and joined the Sierra Wave Project as scientific field director, investigating lee waves at the Geophysical Research Directorate in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Then, as the U.S. space race got under way, Kuettner was invited to work with Wehrner von Braun's team and became director of the Mercury Redstone project at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center which culminated in 1961 by putting the first American, Alan Shepard, into space. Dr. Kuettner also headed systems integration during the early stages of the Apollo project. Dr. Kuettner coordinated and planned many international atmospheric field studies working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as well as the World Meteorological Organization. This allowed him to coordinate projects including the landmark Global Atmospheric Research Program's Atlantic Tropical Experiment (GATE)- with more than 70 nations participating - in 1974; the Monsoon Experiment (MONEX) in 1979; and the Central Equatorial Pacific Experiment (CEPEX) in 1993. Beginning in 1986 Dr. Kuettner was based at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. During this time Dr. Kuettner took part in numerous scientific research programs including, GALE, TAMEX, TOGA-COARE, INDOEX and MAP. His final research program with NCAR was the T-Rex project which researched terrain induced atmospheric rotors. Dr. Kuettner was awarded the UCAR Distinguished Chair for Atmospheric Science and International Research by the National Science Foundation. Shortly before his death in 2011, the Federal Republic of Germany presented Kuettner with the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit, one of Germany's highest civilian honors. Kuettner attributed his sustained love of atmospheric research to two traits: "curiosity and joy of adventure. If you can preserve these two wonderful afflictions through your life, you will never be able to stop exploring the atmosphere." Research for this biographical note is courtesy of the collection as well as OSTIV and Wikipedia.

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Author: Matthew Ramey

Citation:

The source for this biography was compiled from the archival material, Dr. Kuettner's OSTIV obituary, and Wikipedia.

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