Uco van Wijk (20 May 1924, Jogjakarta, Dutch East Indies – 10 August 1966) was a Dutch astronomer and educator who founded the astronomy program at the University of Maryland[1] and was instrumental in bringing Gart Westerhout from the Netherlands to become Department Head. He graduated from Harvard University with a BA in 1948 and a PhD in 1952.[2]
Honors
edit- The crater Van Wijk on the Moon is named after him.
- The astronomy library at the University of Maryland is named after him.
- The Sundial [1] located in the center of McKeldin Mall on the campus was originally a gift from the Class of 1965, the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and friends of Professor Uco Van Wijk. It was renovated with donations from the Class of 1990.
![[1]](http://www.umd.edu/traditions/gr/images/sundial.jpg){kind=link}
References
edit- ^ "Obituary: Uco Van Wijk". Physics Today. 19 (10): 121. October 1966. doi:10.1063/1.3047755. Archived from the original on 2013-09-27.
- ^ https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1967QJRAS...8..386.