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In Memory of

Werner Heinrich Terjung

1931 - 2024

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Jerry Potter posted a condolence

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Werner Terjung was my Ph.D. Chairman in the late 60’s and early 70’s and he had a tremendous impact on my career. He was a new professor and offered an undergraduate course in basic weather and climate. I told him I really enjoyed his class and that he asked me if I would like to work with him as an undergraduate research assistant. He was working on human comfort indices and he needed help gathering data. I think he made me coauthor on a paper at the time. He later asked me to stay on at UCLA for graduate school. Over the next few years we had a number of adventures including doing microclimate measurements at the UC Bancroft laboratory (elevation 12,000 ft) in the White Mountains of California. We stayed about a week and we had a 4 wheel drive Jeep to drive. As part of the measurements he wanted to drive to White Mountain Peak (14,000 ft elevation) and use our instruments to measure long and short wave radiation. I drove, and I remember he was not comfortable with the “road” we drove that had a 1000 ft drop on one side. We arrived at the summit lab and were able to make the measurements. We were always looking for interesting sites to measure radiative fluxes. He was always interested in computing and we made use of a number of large mechanical calculators in the lower level of Bunche Hall. The business school next door had one of the early computers and we learned to use it for simple calculations. Later, we learned to use the “large” campus computer. I think he was the first professor in the department to use computers. We all learned together. I know the sudden death of Stella Louie had an huge impact on him and we all grieved. She was a large part of his research projects and a very hard worker. Werner transitioned from microclimate to global energy balance and he became very interested in the distribution of global values. Satellite data was not yet available but M. I. Budyko had prepared a color atlas of global energy balance components. The atlas was only available at the UC Irvine library so we drove to Irvine to photograph each page. He used the slides we made in his lectures and we used the maps to digitize data. It was fascinating to hear his stories about growing up in Germany during World War II. One story that I remember was when his city was being bombed and his family could see the aircraft dropping bombs. Occasionally a bomber was hit by anti aircraft and on one occasion a plane obviously disabled was heading directly for his home. It barely missed destroyed a city block adjacent to his. His interest in energy balance climatology had a profound influence on me and on my later career at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where I worked for 33 years and then later at NASA GSFC. I think about Werner often and I wish I had kept in better contact with him over the past few years.

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Allen Scott posted a condolence

Saturday, February 17, 2024

I was a colleague of Werner in the Department of Geography at UCLA over the 1980s. Werner was a bit of an outlier in the Department. His research was far in advance of that of most of his colleagues, and he functioned very much as a lone wolf, though he always had a team of dedicated graduate students. I was never very close to him, but I admired his spirit greatly, and I was always on his side in departmental debates. I think he reciprocated my friendly sentiments, and very occasionally I would receive a brief note from him in Hawaii commenting on something I myself had published. I particularly admired his scientific integrity and his commitment to research. I wish I had made a greater effort to get to know him more personally. We shall miss him.

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Brigitte Schuster posted a condolence

Friday, February 16, 2024

Beim Lesen des Nachrufes ist es uns erst richtig zu Bewusstsein gekommen, das nicht nur ein Vater, Großvater und Onkel gestorben ist. Es ist auch ein Mensch, der bis ins hohe Alter noch Träume hatte, gestorben. Onkel Werner ist schon kurz nach meiner Geburt ausgewandert und somit hatte ich leider nicht das Glück ihn persönlich kennenzulernen. Aber wenn zuhause von Onkel Werner gesprochen wurde, so wurde von ihm immer als einen jungen Mann der Träume hat und sein Glück in der Welt findet wird, gesprochen. Wenn man nun den Lebenslauf von Onkel Werner liest, kann ich nur sagen dies stimmt. Denn in der Ferne fand er seine geliebte Frau Betty und auch seinen Beruf den bis zum Schluss über alles liebte. Dies zeigte sich besonders in den vielen Veröffentlichungen. Dies dankte ihm die Fachwelt unter anderen durch die Verleihung eines Doktortitels und vielen anderen Auszeichnungen. Neben seiner Familie werden ihn bestimmt seine ehemaligen Studenten, denen er mit Rat und Tat in ihrer Ausbildung zur Seite stand und ihnen somit zu einem erfolgreichen Berufsleben verhalf schmerzlich, vermissen. Brigitte & Rolf Schuster Nichte und Ehemann aus Mülheim a. d. Ruhr

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Linda Mearns posted a condolence

Friday, February 16, 2024

Werner Terjung was my Ph.D. advisor at UCLA. We worked on a number of interesting research projects regarding climate and agriculture. I was always grateful to Werner for introducing me to this very interesting topic of research. I remember fondly our various picnics at Will Rogers State Park and the menu of Kentucky Fried Chicken and beer. One interesting aspect of these picnics was the problem of yellow jackets, who would try to horn in on our meal. We would build little piles of chicken detritus from our meal and place them on an adjacent table to draw the yellow jackets away. This usually worked! My sympathies to Werner’s family. Linda O. Mearns Senior Scientist Emerita National Center for Atmospheric Research

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Paul Todhunter posted a condolence

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

My sympathies go out to the family of Werner Terjung on his inevitable passing. Like so many others, I owe much in my life and academic career to my professional association with and guidance under him at UCLA. On numerous occasions at professional geography meetings upon mentioning that my Ph.D. was from UCLA I would be asked ‘Who did you do your Ph.D. under?’ When I said Werner Terjung, their eyebrows would raise a bit and you would get that look of ‘Oh, wow!’ Werner’s impact upon the field of geographical climatology was impressive in its breadth, scope, and lasting impact. His research productivity and energy were staggering. On more than one occasion I remember our graduate climatology research group meeting on a Friday to compile our results and thoughts on a quarter-long research project. Werner would take our results and come back on a Monday with a completed first draft that included completed maps and graphics. As significant as was his research career, he had an even greater impact through his mentorship of Ph.D. students. He was an exceptionally supportive and gifted graduate advisor; his students went on to have a lasting impact in the private sector, government research centers, Ph.D.-granting institutions, and teaching universities and colleges. A compilation of Werner’s ‘academic family tree’ tracing Ph.D. students trained by his Ph.D. students would reveal an impressive academic lineage. Werner was a private individual, even to his graduate students. I would have enjoyed hearing more of his personal story of his flight from Germany, emigration to North America, and academic path to UCLA. One detail he did share that had an impact upon me was his brief time working as a lumberjack in Ontario, Canada, where he was unable to clear enough timber to cover his company food and lodging bill, which led to his crossing the U.S. border, joining the military, and eventually going to college on the G.I. Bill; the rest is history. Werner’s demonstrated genius and this part of his story have always helped keep me humble, knowing that somewhere out there is a lumberjack/blue-collar worker who, but for a slightly different path in life, might have had my job. One final note concerns Werner’s deceptive humor. At one of our picnics at Will Rogers State Park I made a comment about the obligatory Coors beer, and how I thought a German might have been a bit more discriminating in his taste. He replied with his characteristic smile/smirk that ‘Beer is beer.’ Werner, I wish we could have shared a Pilsner Urquell together. Thanks for having a profound impact upon the lives of so many people. Paul Todhunter Professor Emeritus, University of North Dakota

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Jim Burt uploaded photo(s)

Sunday, February 11, 2024

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I was beyond lucky to be part of Werner’s group in the mid-70’s and watch his ground-breaking research unfold in real-time. We all marveled at his focus and productivity. I also have an enduring memory of Werner’s uncommon approachability and kindness. If he was in the office the door was wide open, and there was no limit to the time Werner would spend with anyone who answered that beckoning wave of his. These photos are from a picnic at Will Rodgers Park, probably in 1978 or 1979. That was the go-to spot for the group to celebrate a graduation or honor a visiting scholar. (“Honor” might be an overstatement: the menu was always KFC and Coors.) Thanks in no small part to Werner’s example and teaching, all of the people pictured went on to tenured faculty positions and/or distinguished scientific careers. Not shown are many others whose career was likewise launched from planet Terjung. I hope Werner's family takes comfort from knowing how much he meant to all of us. Jim Burt Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Diana Liverman posted a condolence

Sunday, February 11, 2024

Werner supervised my PhD (UCLA 1984) and I am grateful for his support that helped launch me in my career understanding the impacts of climate on food systems. My condolences to the family Diana Liverman Regents Professor Emerita, University of Arizona

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The family of Werner Heinrich Terjung uploaded a photo

Saturday, February 10, 2024

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