Severe weather, Doppler Radar pioneer dies
NORMAN — Edwin Kessler, 88, the first director of the National Severe Storms Laboratory and one of the pioneers in the development of the Doppler Radar, has died in Austin, Texas.
Kessler became the first director of the National Severe Storms Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, headquartered in Norman, in 1964, and served until his retirement in June 1986.
After his retirement he and his wife continued to live on a farm 10 miles west of Purcell, raising organic vegetables and cattle. In 1989, the farm was donated to the University of Oklahoma, with additional acres donated in 1998. It now comprises 350 acres and is a focus of OU activity, principally by the departments of botany and microbiology.
Kessler pioneered the development of Doppler Radar, which revolutionized severe storm and tornado forecasting and detection.
His late wife, Lottie, often joked that the Kessler family moved to Norman because “it had the worst weather in the world.”
“Ed was a kind individual who helped many scientists and engineers build their careers,” said Jeff Kimpel, a retired meteorologist and former director of the National Severe Storms Laboratory.
The Norman Doppler became the prototype for the national network of Doppler weather radars known as NEXRAD, Kimpel said, and “some of Ed’s work on precipitation physics are used in weather prediction models today.”
OU President David L. Boren said, “Thanks in large part to Ed Kessler’s leadership and scholarship, the University of Oklahoma boasts the premier meteorology program in the country. He also made a great contribution as a citizen who led the fight in Oklahoma for open and accountable government at all levels.”
Born Dec. 2, 1928, in Brooklyn, Kessler spent his early years in New York, then moved with his family to Corpus Christi, Texas.
He returned to New York to attend Columbia College, and in 1946 enlisted in the U.S. Army. Discharged in 1947, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Reserve, returning to Columbia and graduating in 1950.
He transferred to the U.S. Air Force and moved to Cambridge, Mass., to attend graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1958, he received a doctorate in meteorology, with a minor in astronomy, from Harvard.
Before being recruited to OU and the National Severe Storms Laboratory, Kessler worked in the weather radar branch of the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories and as director of the atmospheric physics division at the Travelers Research Center in Hartford, Conn.
Kessler was a professor of meteorology at OU, besides his duties as head of the lab. He was chairman of Common Cause Oklahoma from 1993 to 1999, and was active in the Norman Sustainability Network and a frequent visitor at city council meetings.
“The Norman community has lost a great man, scientist and friend,” said Norman city council member Stephen Holman.
“He was a pretty regular attendee at city meetings, advocating for improved water quality and overall environmental stewardship before he became too ill to make it down to city hall,” Holman said.
Kessler is survived by two sons, Austin and Thomas, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. No services have been announced.