Wendell A. Mordy (April 28, 1920July 14, 2002) was an American atmospheric physicist. He was the founding director of the

Desert Research Institute Desert Research Institute (DRI) is the nonprofit research campus of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), the organization that oversees all publicly supported higher education in the U.S. state of Nevada. At DRI, approximately 460 rese ...

in Reno, Nevada.

Early life

Mordy was born on April 28, 1920, in

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in and the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is now called Rock Island Arsenal, Arsenal Island. The popul ...

. He attended Pomona College, graduating in 1942, and then obtained a doctorate from

Stockholm University Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...

in 1958. He served as a commanding officer of a

U.S. 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 ...

meteorological detachment in Europe during World War II.

Career

Mordy initially became well known as a leading authority on cloud-seeding techniques. In 1960, he became the founding director of the

, a position in which he served until 1969. He subsequently became the director of the Sea Grant Institute of the University of Miami and president of the Science Museum of Minnesota. He also served as the founding president of the International Space Theater Consortium, helping to pioneer 360-degree video projection systems.

Personal life

Mordy married Brooke Davis on November 30, 1942. He had two daughters.

Retirement and death

Mordy died on July 14, 2002.

References

External links

Wendall A. Mordy papers at Iowa State University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mordy, Wendell American atmospheric scientists Pomona College alumni Stockholm University alumni 1920 births 2002 deaths United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II American expatriates in Sweden