History
A Celebration in Geophysics and Oceanography — 1982
October 19 1982.
Celebrating the 65th
Photo by Roy Porello
The following excerpt is from “A Celebration in Geophysics
and Oceanography — 1982; In Honor of Walter Munk on his 65th
birthday, October 19, 1982”. The excerpt provides a good summary
of the contents of the volume.
The document in its entirety can be downloaded by right-clicking (Windows)
or ctrl-clicking (Mac) the link below and selecting "Save to disk" or
"Download selected link to disk". Note the large file size (36.5 MB).
The document has been reproduced here and available for free download at the
request of Carl Wunsch, Walter's colleague at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Introduction
“On October 19-20, 1982, a large number of Walter Munk's friends,
colleagues, students and relatives came together at the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography for a celebration of his 65th birthday.
Contrary to all expectations, Walter was caught completely by
surprise when Bill Nierenberg inveigled him, under false pretences,
into a packed Sumner Auditorium at 8:30 a.m. on his birthday, 19 October.
The main emphasis at this gathering was on activities that are
suitable for any birthday party. However, as an added tribute to Walter,
the parties were organized around an informal scientific meeting, a kind of
intellectual party, to celebrate the many different and fascinating
problems on which he has worked.
A small number of Walter's colleagues were asked to give talks,
with the sole injunction that they should be both witty and profound. The
presentations covered numerous oceanographic topics and many other things
too, from national security to the earth's rotation to laundering statues
in Venice. A certain amount of history and philosophy was also apparent,
along with stories about Walter that may be based on fact. More of these
stories emerged in shorter contributions that were interspersed with the
main ones, or presented after dinner.
The purpose of this volume is to preserve many of these talks. Some of the
material is entertaining, much is actually interesting and scientifically
valuable. We want the volume to stand as a tribute to Walter, a book that he
and his colleagues will enjoy reading and that will perhaps convey to students
something of Walter's flair for having fun while making serious contributions
to important scientific problems.”
Chris Garrett
Carl Wunsch
Source:
A Celebration in Geophysics and Oceanography — 1982;
In Honor of Walter Munk on his 65th birthday, October 19, 1982.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography Reference Series 84-5, March, 1984.
Library of Congress No. 84-181943.
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