Warren W. Knapp

I was Dr. Knapp's student back in the 1980s, and I remember him so fondly. I will always remember the good feeling of being in Dr. Knapp's sunny office on the top floor of Bradfield Hall for conversation and mentoring. He was a kind, supportive, and patient professor. When I took his Thermo course, I got an 80 on the first exam--oh, the horror, it wasn't an A!--and ended up in tears in his office. He was patient and reassuring, and I ended up earning an A in his class and was his teaching assistant the following year. He had to be away at a conference for a few classes and asked me to give the lectures in his absence. Stepping into his shoes was a daunting prospect, but he said "I know you will do splendidly. Here are my lecture notes". He handed me a stack of handwritten notes, with dates in the margins from where he had stopped each day, for years and years, so he would know where to begin the next time. Holding those notes in my hand, I felt sure I could do this--and I did. He invited me and my fellow meteorology major Jeane to his Solstice party that year, and made us feel very welcome as we toasted the longest night of the year with his homemade grog. Today I am a professor, and I remember well his kindness that day when I was in tears over an exam, and his confidence in me when I faced a challenge, and those experiences shape my own response with my students now. His atmospheric physics course was what first got me fascinated by atmospheric phenomena, and I teach those topics in my classes today. Dr. Knapp's wisdom and kindness has affected so many of us, and those who were fortunate to have learned from him will never forget him. My condolences to his family and all who mourn his passing.

I'm truly shocked and saddened to only now learn of Dr. Knapp's sudden passing. In addition to his scientific wisdom and stimulating lectures in his difficult, but fair undergraduate meterology classes, as a research assistant in the SCAS department for a year after graduation, I was fortunate to be able attend one of the winter solstice parties hosted by him and Jeanette, and sample some of his legendary glögg!

Rest in peace, Dr. Knapp. And thank you for helping me to get to where I am in my career and my life today.

So many of us Cornell atmospheric science graduates look back with fondness on Dr Knapp's kindness and competence in teaching hard courses like thermodynamics and fluid dynamics. I think of timidly approaching Dr. Knapp's office as an undergraduate, knowing I was heading in the right direction from the growing (pleasant) odor of his pipe tobacco. To his remaining family, please know that he was tremendously respected in our department and played a key role for us maturing into our careers as meteorologists and atmospheric scientists. Your loss is our loss, too.