John Francis Ropek (January 3, 1917 – November 9, 2009) was an American meteorologist and oceanographer.

Early life and education

John Francis Ropek was born in

Dunmore, Pennsylvania Dunmore is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States, adjoining Scranton, Pennsylvania, Scranton. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and was settled in 1835 and incorporated in 1862. Extensive anthrac ...

. His parents were Josephine and Franciszek Ropek. Ropek was an alumnus of

Dunmore High School Dunmore High School is the secondary education, public school for the borough of Dunmore, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Dunmore School District. Dunmore High School is located at 300 West Warren Street. According to the National Center for E ...

. He earned degrees in chemistry and meteorology from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

Career

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Ropek was drafted and served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

in the Pacific, attaining the rank of captain. He became a civilian researcher after the war. In 1957 he was assigned to the

USS Nautilus USS ''Nautilus'' may refer to: * , a 12-gun schooner (1799–1812) * , a 76-foot coast survey schooner (1838–1859) * , a ''Narwhal''-class submarine (1930–1945) * , the first nuclear submarine (1954–1980) See also * Ships named ''Nautilus' ...

. As one of 116 men aboard this nuclear submarine, Ropek was involved in pioneering oceanographic studies under the polar ice cap of the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

, resulting in the report "Characteristics of Polar Ice Observed During the 1957 Arctic Cruise of the USS Nautilus" (Defense Technical Information Center 1958). As a scientist he published many technical papers, such as ''US Navy Hydrographic Office synoptic and prognostic wave charts'' (US Navy Hydrographic Office 1955), and "An Application of Naval Oceanographic Development to Inland Waters" (Defense Technical Information Center 1967). Later, Ropek was deputy director of the prediction division of the Naval Oceanographic Office. Late in life he lived in Lusby, Maryland. John F. Ropek died November 9, 2009, at Calvert Memorial Hospital in Maryland. He was 92. He is buried in Saint Anthony of Padua Cemetery,

Dickson City, Pennsylvania Dickson City is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, north of Scranton. Coal mining was an important industry in the past. The borough's population peaked at 12,395 in 1930 and was 6,051 at the 2020 census. History Dickson City was ...

.Find A Grave memorial for John F. Robek (1917-2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ropek, John Francis 1917 births 2009 deaths American meteorologists American oceanographers New York University alumni United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II