NAAPO (North American AstroPhysical Observatory)

Passage Dr. John D. Kraus June 28, 1910 - July 18, 2004 (W8JK, Silent Key)

Obituary [This obituary was published in The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch and in The Delaware (Ohio) Gazette on July 22, 2004.] KRAUS John Daniel Kraus, 94, of Delaware, Ohio, BIG EAR radio astronomer, died July 18, 2004 at his home in Delaware, Ohio. Born June 28, 1910 at Ann Arbor, Mich. to Edward and Lena Hoffman Kraus, he graduated from Ann Arbor (Michigan) High School in 1926. He received a Bachelor of Science in 1930, a Master of Science in 1931 and in 1934 (at 24 years of age) a Ph.D. in physics, all from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. At Michigan, he was involved in atomic particle accelerator research. An avid radio amateur, his call sign was W8JK and he developed such innovative antennas as the "W8JK flat topbeam" and the "corner reflector." In this period, John first became fascinated by the recent discoveries of radio noise from space and the potential to use radio waves rather than visible light to "see" the universe. In 1941 he married Alice Nelson and they lived in Washington, D.C. where John was a civilian scientist with the U.S. Navy responsible for "degaussing" or neutralizing the electromagnetic fields of steel ships to make them safe from magnetic mines. He also worked on radar countermeasures at Harvard University's Radio Research Laboratory. In 1946 they moved to Columbus, Ohio where John took a faculty position at the Ohio State University. He designed and directed construction of the "Big Ear" radio telescope which discovered some of the most distant known objects at the edge of the universe and conducted sky surveys mapping the radio stars. John was closely identified with efforts and activity related to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence or SETI. In this endeavor he edited and published COSMIC SEARCH - The first magazine about SETI. The now famous "WOW" signal, of possible extraterrestrial origin, was detected by "Big Ear" in 1977. Professor Kraus spent his entire career at Ohio State where he was McDougal Professor of Electrical Engineering and Radio Astronomy. He was awarded the Sullivant Medal from Ohio State "for outstanding contributions to radio astronomy and electrical engineering." He was the author of many articles and the following widely used texts: ANTENNAS, ELECTROMAGNETICS, RADIO ASTONOMY and popular books, COSMIC SEARCH AND BIG EAR [sic; OUR COSMIC UNIVERSE, BIG EAR and BIG EAR TWO], which have variously appeared in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Russian, and Portuguese. His professional memberships included the National Academy of Engineering and Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. He received the Centennial Medal, the Edison Medal and the Heinrich Hertz Medal from IEEE. The Antenna and Propagation Society of IEEE twice awarded him their Distinguished Achievement Award, the last in 2003 "for a career of outstanding innovation and invention in the field of antennas, and for the many students he has taught and inspired to excel in electromagnetics." Mentally active and vital to the very end, he was a last living link to many of the astonishing scientific discoveries of the 20th century. He was of a by-gone era of empirical and observational research and hands-on invention. A committed environmentalist, in 1976, with his wife Alice, he donated the 80-acre Kraus Wilderness Preserve to the Ohio Wesleyan University with scholarship endowment to enhance learning opportunities for Ohio Wesleyan students. Environmental scholarships were also established for Ohio State University students. He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Alice Nelson Kraus and is survived by 2 sons, John D. Kraus, Jr., wife Janice of Durham, N.H. and Nelson H. Kraus, wife Susan of Indianapolis, Ind.; also 5 grandchildren, Kurt Kraus of Durham, N.H., Heidi Kraus of Memphis, Tenn., Erich Kraus of Berlin, Germany, Amanda Kraus of Chicago, Ill. and Daniel Kraus of Columbus, Ohio. A memorial service will be held Saturday July 31, at 3:00 p.m. in the Benes Room of the Campus Center of the Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio. Memorial contributions may be made in John's or Alice's name to any of the following: the Ohio State University Alice Nelson Kraus Undergraduate Scholarship in Environmental Biology, the Kraus Wilderness Preserve Scholarship Endowment Fund, Ohio Wesleyan University, the Stratford Ecological Center, Delaware, Ohio or the Ohio Wildlife Center, Columbus, Ohio.

Newspaper Articles From: The Delaware (Ohio) Gazette Tuesday, July 20, 2004 OWU benefactor John Kraus dies By TIM PICARD Staff Writer John Kraus, 94, physicist, astronomer, preservationist and benefactor, died of natural causes Sunday in his Liberty Township home. Perhaps best known locally for the construction of the Big Ear radio telescope, Kraus was recognized worldwide for his research in astronomy and physics. His legacy may last longer for donating 80 acres of woodland and meadow, Kraus Nature Preserve, to Ohio Wesleyan University. Kraus and his late wife, Alice, moved to Home Road in 1960 and later purchased adjacent tracts. The land has a deep ravine, grassland and large trees and is restricted from development by deed. It is used by OWU and Ohio State University for biological study. Recently interviewed by the Gazette, Kraus said the land and related study will be the couple's "eternal" gift to local scientists and students. They're also responsible for three Kraus Fellowships that help students study the forest for both science and conservation. OWU zoology professor Jed Burtt, who met Kraus in 1977, said the preserve is a "refuge that will last into perpetuity for students and researchers," adding that Kraus never dwelt in the past. "He was always looking to the future," Burtt said. "We just spoke last week about the planning of a (global positioning system) grid to map projects in the preserve." The relationship Kraus established with local scientists also moved Burtt. "One of the things that was impressive about John was that he was an outstanding internationally known scientist who wanted to work with us," Burtt said. Born in Michigan, in 1910, Kraus earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in physics from the University of Michigan, where he helped construct and operate the university's 100-ton cyclotron, at the time the world's most powerful particle accelerator. During World War II, Kraus performed degaussing (protecting ships from magnetic mines) at the U.S. Naval Ordnance Laboratory and later developed antennas at Harvard University's Radio Research Laboratory. In 1946, he joined the faculty of OSU, where he was professor emeritus of the electrical engineering and Astronomy departments. tpicard@delgazette.com

Reminiscences From: Douglas Wade Needham, July 21, 2004 While my personal interactions with Dr. Kraus were unfortunately limited and many, many years ago (e.g. 1984 and earlier), I personally think we are greatly in his debt for countless reasons. I know in the past several months, as I have been trying to brush up on my EM and antennas knowledge that I have not used much in 15 years, I have seen countless references to him in my textbooks. It seems like at least every other chapter had some citation or other reference to him. I have to wonder where we would be with amateur radio, radio astronomy, and countless other things we take for granted if it had not been for Dr. Kraus and his work! - Doug From: "James R. Duffey" Subject: John Kraus, W8JK SIlent Key John Kraus, W8JK died a the age of 94 today. Kraus, a creative thinker, made several significant contributions to the antenna world in general and Ham Radio in particular. A professor at Ohio State University, he also contributed significantly to radio astronomy. Prior to his invention of the W8JK antenna in the mid 30s, it was commonly thought that to get more gain from an antenna it had to be made bigger and bigger. Kraus realized that by placing elements closer together and forcing a phase shift that gain could be realized from an antenna much smaller than conventional arrays at the time. This was not generally accepted thinking among the professional EE community at the time and he had difficulty publishing professionally, so he published it in Radio magazine, a forerunner to the present CQ magazine. The W8JK antenna was a popular antenna for many years, in many forms and derivatives, including the ZL special and W7EL's field day special. Kraus invented the helix antenna after seeing the then new Traveling Wave Tube (TWT) amplifier demonstrated at an OSU seminar. The TWT uses a tightly wound helix to amplify by traveling waves of electrons. Kraus asked the lecturer if the helix radiated. The lecturer replied no, that the circumference was too small. Kraus realized that the larger helix might make an effective circularly polarized antenna. Kraus went home that evening and wound one with a larger circumference and the helix antenna was born. The helix antenna has been a main stay of the space community since its inception. Kraus also invented the corner reflector antenna after realizing that the method of images could be implemented physically. It was a widely used antenna for UHF TV and point to point microwave transmission for many years. Kraus also invented the Big Ear radio telescope at OSU after realizing that electrically steering an antenna was far simpler than moving giant dishes. Kraus was the author of "Antennas", an excellent textbook on antennas. It is still in print, in the second edition, more than 50 years after its initial publication. He will be missed. - Dr. Megacycle KK6MC/5 James R. Duffey KK6MC/5 Post to rec.radio.amateur.antenna newsgroup on July 20, 2004 From: Bob Dixon (dixon.8@osu.edu) Subject: W8JK Passes Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.antenna Date: 2004-07-20 09:12:00 PST John Kraus W8JK has passed away at age 94. He is the inventor of the corner reflector, helix and W8JK antennas. Bob W8ERD Responses to Bob Dixon's Posting From: Yuri Blanarovich (k3bu@aol.comNoUsama) Subject: Re: W8JK Passes May he rest in peace! Great man, ham, he will be missed. Perhaps another proof that RF doesn't kill or cause cancer, as propagated by hysterical FCC and other "RF danger" promoters. 73 OB Yuri, B3BU From: Jim - NN7K (nn7kexk7zfg@sbcglobal.net) Subject: Re: W8JK Passes Not to mention , wrote the BIBLE on antenna theory! (Antennas by Kraus) ISBN# 07-035410-3 McGraw-Hill Electrical & Electronics Encineering Series 1950. Sorry to see him go-- Jim NN7K From: J. McLaughlin (JCM@Power-Net.Net) Subject: Re: W8JK Passes Dear Bob: Thanks for passing on the information. Prof. Kraus was and is my mentor in grad. school. His kindness and caring for others, his willingness to work hard, and his generosity are also included in his legacy. He spoke softly, but in such a way that you wanted to run to meet his expectations. Analogously to the custom in mathematics, I tell my worthy students that their Kraus number is 2 and that their students will be 3. In addition to my father and my geology professor (James Zumberg), I have tried to emulate Prof. Kraus all of my life. They were the personification of the non-egotistical, helping genius. Too rare in any age. Prof. Kraus was also a pioneer in radio astronomy producing, as I recall, the second atlas after Grote Reeber, who I once worked near. The two men were fast friends. Let us all rejoice in such a long and productive life. If we can but approach a fraction, we will have lived well. 'till we meet again, 73 Mac N8TT J. Mc Laughlin - Michigan USA Home: JCM@Power-Net.Net From: Al (aldhearn@bellsouth.net) Subject: Re: W8JK Passes A genius, a pioneer, and a great representative of amateur radio. I have all three of his "Antennas" books, which are bibles in this arena. Thanks and 73s John. Al WA4GKQ From: Cecil Moore (w5dxp@hotmail.com) Subject: Re: W8JK Passes I'm really sorry to hear that. But his works will live in infamy. 73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp From: Richard Harrison (richardharrison@webtv.net) Subject: Re: W8JK Passes Thanks to Bob for his posting. Sorry to lose a hero. Kraus antennas are used around the earth and in space. Kraus books are permanent sources of knowledge. Too bad Kraus did not live another 100 years. Best regards, Richard Harrison, KB5WZI From: Jeff Maass (jmaass@columbus.rr.com) Subject: Re: W8JK Passes IEEE has a short professional biography of Dr. John D. Kraus W8JK at: http://www.ieee.org/organizations/history_center/legacies/kraus.html Here is a copy of a newspaper article from 10 years ago that describes some of Dr. Kraus' accomplishments specific to radio astronomy and SETI, especially at the Ohio State University Radio Observatory. http://www.bigear.org/kraus.htm I recommend that *all* Amateurs that they read Dr. Kraus' book 'Big Ear' (now available as 'Big Ear Two'). It's largely an autobiography, but not of the boring "I did this, then I did that" type. It's an interesting tour through radio and technology in the period paralleling Dr. Kraus' life in the 20th Century, from his viewpoint in story-telling style. Here's a short review and some information about the 'Big Ear Two' book: http://patriot.net/~jlazio/essays/review4.html http://www.cqbooks.com/bigear2.htm I also liked his book 'Our Cosmic Universe', which is a non-technical description of astronomy (of all types) in the 20th Century. http://www.cqbooks.com/universe.htm 73, Jeff K8ND From: JLB (IHateSpam@nospam.net) Subject: Re: W8JK Passes Do you know the arrangements, Bob? Those in the area that knew him may want to attend. Or is it a private family service? For those just tuning in, I was one of his last students. Maybe one more after me. He was always kind and courteous. One thing I remember is that he always insisted on being called John, not 'Dr. Kraus'. Jim, N8EE (Former W8JK student. OSU class of 1988)