Ralph Burhans

[Burhans]

Just came across my father-in-law's name on your website -- below is his
obituary, fyi.  (he just passed away.)  He was thrilled by your mention
of him on the site, btw!)
Hilarie Burhans


Ralph W. Burhans passed away peacefully on Friday, April 27, 2001. He
was 78 years old.

Born in Cleveland Ohio on May 30, 1922, he was the son of the late
Everett Hurst Burhans and Geneva Wellman Burhans of Hudson, Ohio.

In World War II he was a tech sargent radio and radar operator in B-17s
and flew 33 combat missions over Nazi Germany. He attended Kent State
University, graduated from Oberlin College, and did part time graduate
work at Case Western Reserve University.

He held a position as a research associate at Sohio Research in
Cleveland, originating eight patents assigned to Sohio.. Most notable is
a patent on “microballoons”, hollow plastic or silica spheres used as
ablative heat shielding on spacecraft and as insulating material.

He was a research engineer and lecturer at the Ohio University Avionics
Engineering Center, and had more than 70 papers, reports, and articles
published in the NASA archives and various technical journals. He was a
member of the International Loran Association, the Audio Engineering
Society, the Institute for Navigation, and Sigma Xi, the scientific
honorary.

While on leave from Ohio University, he was Station Manager of the
mmwave radio telescope operated by the National Radio Astronomy
Observatory at Kitt Peak, Arizona during its final construction phases
in 1966-1967.

He was a member of the ACLU, the Unitarian Fellowship of Athens, the
National Audubon Society, and the Athens County Humane Society.

He was preceded in death by his wife Jane Cuthbert Burhans. He is
survived by his sons, Mark John Burhans and Dirk Everett Burhans, and
grandchildren Emily Jane Burhans, Ryland Lee Burhans, and Shawna Cady
Burhans.

His remains have been willed to the Ohio University College of Medicine.
A memorial service will be held at the Unitarian Fellowship on Sunday,
May 13 at noon.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Athens
County Humane Society Cat Shelter.