IN MEMORIAM:
Professor Emeritus
James Clapp
 rofessor Emeritus James
L. Clapp died March 31 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s
and Parkinson’s disease. He earned a bachelor’s degree in
naval science and BS, MS and PhD degrees in civil engineering (1956
through 1964), all from UW-Madison. He was a first lieutenant in the
U.S. Marine Corps as an engineering company commander and later joined
the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, where he began
as an assistant professor in 1964.
Clapp became dean of the University of Maine at Orono
College of Engineering & Science in 1978 and returned to UW-Madison
in 1984. He retired from the university in 1995.
He was a pioneer in remote sensing education and
research and received the Congressional Medal for Antarctic Service
for ice-flow studies in Antarctica in the 1960s. On campus, he was a
member of the first executive committee of what now is the Gaylord Nelson
Institute for Environmental Studies. Clapp also chaired the Wisconsin
Land Records Committee, whose work became a national model for land
information modernization. He received numerous awards for teaching
and research excellence, including the Steiger Award for Outstanding
Teaching (1968), Polygon Outstanding Teacher (1972, 1973, 1975, 1985),
New England Section ACSM Outstanding Educator (1977), ACSM National
Fennel Award for Outstanding Educator (1981), and ACSM Presidential
Citation for Meritorious Service (1987, 1989).
He is survived by his wife, Susan; sons Lee (Judith),
Len (Jennifer) and Don; sister JoAnn Sivley, and many nephews and nieces.
View a website dedicated to Clapp at www.jimclappmemorial.com.
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