A noted figure in the field of planetary science and higher education, Bruce W. Hapke, Ph.D., has been a professor emeritus in the Department of Geology and Planetary Science at the University of Pittsburgh since 2001. Dr. Hapke was previously professor at the University of Pittsburgh from 1967 to 2001 and a senior research associate in the Center for Radiophysics and Space Research at Cornell University from 1960 to 1967.
Dr. Hapke obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1953. After serving on active duty in the US Navy during the Korean War, he earned a Doctor of Philosophy in engineering physics from Cornell University in 1962. He is a member of the American Astronomical Society for which he served as Chairman of the Division for Planetary Science, the American Geophysical Union in which he is a Fellow, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the International Astronomical Union.
Dr. Hapke participated in several missions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, including the Mariner 10 mission to Venus and Mercury, the Viking Lander mission to Mars, the Apollo lunar landings and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. He is widely known for developing a theory, informally known as “Hapke Theory,” that mathematically describes such phenomena as the reflection of sunlight and radar waves and emission of heat waves from planetary surfaces. He has been called one of the fathers of planetary remote sensing.
Dr. Hapke is the author or coauthor of over 200 papers in professional journals and books. He is the author of the book “Theory of Reflectance and Emittance Spectroscopy.” Married to Joyce Zellinger in 1954, he is the proud father of three children, Kevin, Jeffrey and Cheryl. Dr. Hapke has been listed in the 24th edition of Who’s Who in the East.
Contact Bruce W. Hapke: