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 Previous: ARRL Board Okays Volunteer Grassroots Lobbying Effort |  Next: ARRL Board Names Award Winners |
 [IEEE Photo] |
NEWINGTON, CT, Jul 21, 2004--Well-known radio astronomer, antenna designer, cosmic explorer and author John D. Kraus,W8JK, of Delaware, Ohio, died Sunday, July 18. He was 94 and reportedly was in failing health but alert to the end. While he enjoyed a worldwide reputation, Kraus is perhaps best known within the Amateur Radio community for his bi-directional wire beam antenna design--often dubbed the '8JK array. The antenna has remained popular among radio amateurs for decades. Other important Kraus antenna designs include the corner reflector and the helix antenna, often used in amateur satellite antennas as well as in commercial communications applications. The Michigan native was a pioneer of radiotelescope design and the father of the so-called "Big Ear" telescope, which ceased operation in 1997 after almost 40 years of service.
Following an early fascination with radio, Kraus first became
licensed as 8AFJ. He later requested and was granted the now-famous W8JK call
sign. He obtained his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan in the 1930s, and,
while working in the school's physics department, he helped construct and did
research on the university's cyclotron.
 John Kraus, W8JK, speaks at a 2000 dedication of a site marker for the "Big Ear" radiotelescope. [Photo by Paul Shuch, N6TX] |
Before and during World War II, Kraus worked for the Naval Ordnance Laboratory (now a part of the Naval Surface Weapons Center) on a project to protect ships from magnetic mines. He's also credited with developing an early "walkie-talkie" that used UHF frequencies. At Harvard University's Radio Research Laboratory he worked on radar countermeasures, and following the war he helped write a book on the lab's achievements.
In 1946, he joined the faculty of the Ohio State University. He served as a professor of electrical engineering and astronomy at OSU, where he founded and directed the OSU Radio Observatory (OSURO)--designing and overseeing construction of the "Big Ear" radiotelescope on the land owned by Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware.
Kraus's classic textbook Antennas, now in its third edition, has been an engineering school staple for about four decades and can be found in virtually every antenna engineer's library. The advanced antenna theory book is an optional text for the ARRL "Antenna Design and Construction" (EC-009) Certification and Continuing Education course. Among his other titles are Electromagnetics, Radio Astronomy, Big Ear, Big Ear Two and Our Cosmic Universe.
Kraus received many honors over his long career. He became a fellow of the IEEE in 1954 and a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1972. During the 1950s, he served on President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Science Advisory Committee and on the committee that established the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. In 1996, Dayton Hamvention honored Kraus as the recipient of its Special Achievement Award for his contributions to antenna design. In 2001, CQ named Kraus to the inaugural class of its Amateur Radio Hall of Fame.
Other honors include the
OSU Joseph Sullivant Medal--one of the university's highest awards, the
Outstanding Achievement Award of the University of Michigan as well as the
Centennial Medal and the IEEE Edison Medal "for a sustained career as an
innovator, discoverer and educator in the fields of antennas and radio
astronomy.
 The "Big Ear" radiotelescope on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University. It was demolished in 1998 to make way for development. |
Construction of the "Big Ear" radiotelescope--which subsequently recorded the so-called "Wow!" signal--was completed in 1961. Much of the construction was done by students. The "Big Ear" undertook extensive mapping of the sky, earning itself a solid reputation in the astronomy community.
In late 1973, an OSURO program began to search for narrowband signals--natural or artificially generated by extraterrestrial intelligence. On August 15, 1977, Jerry Ehman, who had taken on responsibility for reviewing the telescope's computer printout, was astonished to see the strongest narrowband signal ever recorded from the telescope.
Ehman describes that the sequence of numbers and letters (6, E, Q, U, J, 5) that appeared only in one channel of the 50-channel filter "reproduced the antenna pattern for a small-angular diameter radio source emitting a narrowband signal, just what would be expected for a signal from an intelligent civilization."
Ehman wrote "Wow!" in red in the computer printout's margin. Although the telescope was kept at the same declination to see if the signal would return, it never did. As Ehman says, "a definitive explanation has not been found."
The following year, Kraus launched Cosmic Search, a magazine devoted to various aspects of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. It was discontinued after three years and 13 issues.
The Big Ear fell victim to development pressures and was torn down in 1998. Kraus spoke at a November 2000 dedication of a site marker.
Kraus and his wife, Alice, have two sons--Jack and
Nelson--and several grandchildren. The Rodman Bennett Brown Funeral Home in
Delaware, Ohio, is handling arrangements.
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