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15688 Mr. Alfred Carl Haussmann, Jr.
August 26, 1924 - July 11, 1998

usma1946-A2

 

 MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly Sep '99

Alfred Carl Haussmann, Jr. * '46
NO.15688 * 26 Aug 1924 - 12 Jul 1998
Died in Livermore, CA * Interred in Memory Gardens
Memorial Park, Livermore, CA

Alfred Carl Haussmann, Jr. was born in Geneva, NY and was known by family and friends as Carl. His father was Head of the Physics Department at Hobart and later, William Smith College. Carl graduated from Geneva High School in 1942 and spent a year at Hobart before gaining his appointment to West Point where he joined the Class of 1946 on 1 July 1943.

He is remembered by his roommates as an exceptional cadet with an intense and inquisitive mind. Carl was an outstanding lacrosse player and was a unanimous All American at the attack position his first class year. He graduated a second lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps.

While attending the Quartermaster Officer's Basic Course at Camp Lee, VA, Carl married Alice Wilkerson in 1947 at Petersburg, VA. He studied graduate physics at CA Institute of Technology ('47-'48), U.S. Naval Postgraduate School ('48-49) and PA State University, receiving his Masters in Physics in 1951. After attending the Nuclear Weapon Supervisor School at Sandia Base, NM he became a Nuclear Supervisor at Sandia and then Killeen Base, TX. In 1952, the leader of the team designing the first hydrogen bomb's main-stage requested Carl to join his team at Princeton, NJ. In 1953, Carl, then a Captain, was invited to join the University of CA newly formed U/C Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to work on nuclear weapons design. Carl left the Army in 1955 to join the staff of the Laboratory.

This was the start of a brilliant career at Livermore. Under Harold Brown, Carl was a thermonuclear explosive physics group leader from 1955 - 1959. From 1959 to 1962, Carl led the Laboratory's entire thermonuclear design effort. In 1962, he became Associate Director of the Laboratory's new Military Applications Program. In 1968, Carl became Associate Director of the new Plans Office, its first explicit long-range planning effort. Carl ran the Laboratory's Laser Program from 1971 to 1975. In 1975, Carl was appointed Associate Director at Large for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where he remained until his retirement in 1988. Upon his retirement, the University of California bestowed on Carl the title of Associate Director at large Emeritus, U/C Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Carl was also one of the founders of nCHIP, Inc, a high-performance multi-chip module electronics packaging company. He also advised at the start-up of a private sector imaging satellite company, World View, now incorporated into an expanded effort, EarthWatch. Carl remained a Lawrence Laboratory consultant, Advisor to the Director.

When not working on nuclear weapons and lasers, Carl was an avid photographer and collected 'O' scale (1/48) locomotives and trains. He also collected and researched century old pattern glass - Thousand Eye.

Another hobby was gardening. Not only did he enjoy it at home, Carl is credited for much of the landscaping and architecture of Livermore Laboratory that transformed it from the feel of a World War II airfield to its more campus like environment.

Carl was very active and healthy until April of 1998 when he was diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer. Carl died 11 July 1998. Survivors include his wife Alice, daughters, Barbara and Mary, five grandchildren and a sister, Martha.

The regard with which Carl Haussmann was universally held is best depicted by comments from those who knew and respected him.

Director Emeritus Edward Teller, co-inventor of the hydrogen bomb and co-founder of LLNL: "In Carl Haussmann, the Laboratory lost one of its founders. Our first job was the construction of a hydrogen bomb. We needed something without excessive costs that we could quickly prepare. Carl, in a unique proposal, put together and helped execute an instrument of this kind. The man who saw how to do it (submarine-based nuclear launch capability) in an effective way - cheaply and quickly-was Carl Haussmann. His death at the early age of 73 makes me deeply sorry."

Former Director, Harold Brown: "Carl became a colleague at Livermore almost 45 years ago. I have valued and admired his service to the Laboratory and to our country ever since. Most of all, I shall miss his steady, thoughtful and measured approach to issues, whether technical, managerial or conceptual. We need more like Carl."

Former Director, John Nuckolls: "Carl was a major contributor to the development of the nuclear deterrent, Laser Programs and the Laboratory. He had extraordinary talents for recognizing and realizing the 'possible.' He helped design the first megaton 'super bombs' in the early 1950s. Later, at Livermore, he innovated designs that made possible submarine-launched and multiple warhead ballistic missile systems. To many Lab employees, including myself, Carl was a friend and mentor, a great motivator and a powerful ally."

His daughter, Barbara: "In addition to all his work-related accomplishments, Dad was a wonderful and attentive husband, father and grandfather, who always provided for us a loving and stable family life. He had a great sense of humor which he maintained even through his illness."

To these words about a great American and West Pointer, the Class of 1946 is honored to add those words that would mean so much to our classmate: "Well Done, Carl; Be Thou At Peace!"

 

'46 Memorial Article Project and his family

Personal Eulogy


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