William F. Ballhaus Sr.

William F. Ballhaus Sr. (1918 – August 16, 2013) was an engineer who worked in the field of aircraft and manufacturing.[1] He was educated at Stanford University and California Institute of Technology. He was employed at various posts in aircraft design and manufacture at Douglas, Convair, and Northrop (chief engineer).[1] In 1965, he was appointed president of Beckman Instruments, where he gradually converted the manufacturing focus from defense to medical instruments. Ballhaus had a keen interest in economics, particularly in the relationship between tax policy and growth, and played a role in the lowering of capital gains taxes by Congress in 1978.[1][2] He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1973 and, with the election of his son, William F. Ballhaus Jr., to the same institution, they became the first father-son members of NAE.[1]

William F. Ballhaus Sr.
William Ballhaus, Sr. (standing) with Arnold O. Beckman of Beckman Instruments
Born1918
DiedAugust 16, 2015(2015-08-16) (aged 96)
Alma mater
Scientific career
FieldsAerospace engineering
Institutions
ThesisAerodynamic and geometric parameters affecting aircraft weight (1947)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Obituary (2014) AIAA Fellow Ballhaus Died in August 2013, Aerospace America 52(1), B21.
  2. ^ EF Denison (1979) "Accounting for Slower Economic Growth", Brookings Institution Press.
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