William F. Ballhaus Jr.

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William F. Ballhaus Jr. (born January 28, 1945) is an American engineer. From 2001 to 2007, he was president and chief executive officer of The Aerospace Corporation, an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to the objective application of science and technology toward the solution of critical issues in the nation’s space program. [1] [2] [3] [4]

He previously worked for Lockheed Martin Corporation, Martin Marietta Corporation and was director of NASA's Ames Research Center. He holds three engineering degrees from the University of California, Berkeley where he was a member of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity. [5]

With his election into the NAE, he and his father, William F. Ballhaus Sr., became the first father-son members of NAE. [6]

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William F. Ballhaus Sr. was an engineer who worked in the field of aircraft and manufacturing. 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. 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. 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.

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References

  1. "William F. Ballhaus Jr. Elected CEO".
  2. "Dr. William F. Ballhaus Jr., Named President of the Aerospace Corporation". 11 July 2000.
  3. http://www.nationalspacesymposium.org/speakers/ballhaus-jr-dr-william-f [ dead link ]
  4. http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-5674651/William-F-Ballhaus-Jr.html [ dead link ]
  5. "50 Years in Space - William F. Ballhaus, Jr". galcit.caltech.edu. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  6. Obituary (2014) AIAA Fellow Ballhaus Died in August 2013, Aerospace America 52(1), B21.