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Richard Rapp Obituary
Dr. Richard "Dick" Henry Rapp, age 83, Professor Emeritus of The Ohio State University passed away at MUSC on Sunday, September 20th 2020 with his loving family by his side. He was born in Danbury, Connecticut in 1937 to Sydney A. Rapp and Dorothea Cullinan Rapp. He is survived by his college sweetheart of 55 years, Patricia Hallabrin Rapp; his sons, Richard H. Rapp, Jr., Copper Mountain, Colorado, Christopher M. Rapp; and grandson, Janzen Rapp, Pagosa Springs Colorado. He is also survived by his brother, Sydney A. Rapp, Jr. and wife, Carol of Danbury, Connecticut; and many nieces and nephews. Dick and Pat lived for 35 years in Worthington, Ohio while Dick was doing his teaching and research. Much of their activity time was spent at Worthington Hills Country Club where they were very active in tennis and platform tennis and some golf with friends who remain cherished. They retired to Hilton Head Island in 1999 where golf became one of Dick's major activities. He was very involved at Dolphin Head Golf Club for 22 years where he served as president, historian, organizer and leader of several golf groups. He played in and organized his groups up to three weeks before his death. He also served on the area's Course Rating Teams for many years. His travels during his professional and retirement life have carried him over much of this world from both poles, most continents, and many adventures. World events have occurred during some of his travels such as when he had to abandon a teaching seminar he was to give in Panama because of the Manuel Noriega problems and a meeting in Europe was interrupted to protect the Russian scientists when Russia fell apart. He graduated from Danbury High School, got his B.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, his M.S. from The Ohio State University and his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in 1964. He became a full professor in 1971. As a world renowned gravity expert his Vita lists 19 pages of offices, publications, awards, etc., but a few outstanding are the University Distinguished Scholar Award in 1986, and the NASA Group Achievement Award to TOPEX/POSEIDON Mission Design in 1993. The numerous research grants he procured helped many of his Ph. D. and Post-Doctoral students gain their degrees. One of his most satisfying rewards since retirement has been keeping in touch with several of his former students who have been successful in many different countries. Dick Rapp was admired and loved by all who knew him and will be greatly missed. Due to the Covid pandemic the family will be holding a private service. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that you donate in Dick's name to The Deep Well Project, P.O. Box 5543, Hilton Head Island, SC 29938.
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Memories and Condolences
for Richard Rapp
Sponsored by The Columbus Dispatch.
Angus C Jones
October 21, 2020
He was my advisor back in the early 60's. He was instrumental in my transferring from an engineering major to a Geodetic Science major. I consequently got my degree in Geodetic Science, travelled the world working for The Defense Mapping Agency, and having a wonderful life. Dr Rapp was my mentor and I carried his book on "Adjustment Computations" everywhere, and I still have it.
Gus Jones class of 1967
Boudewijn H.W. van Gelder
October 13, 2020
Until today many words have - rightly so - devoted to Prof. Rapp's qualities as a teacher and researcher. I agree with all of them. One aspect has been underexposed. It was my first year at DoGS at OSU (1972-1973). While I was working on Prof. Rapp's assignment to investigate the (scale?) behavior of one of the conformal mappings, I noticed that my class mates were writing Fortran programs that were looking at every variable parameter imaginable. With my - obviously too large - course load there was no way under the sun that I could match those performances. That evening I calculated on the back of an envelope - literally! - my assessment of the assignment. The next morning - with my heart pounding out of my chest - I knocked on Prof. Rapp's door, and handed him - with sincere excuses - my envelope. Prof. Rapp said: "Boudewijn, don't worry about it. I will have a look at it!" ... to find out many, many years later that he had included that "back-on-the-envelope" evaluation permanently in his lectures notes.
To this day, I have never forgotten his response ... on the contrary to common believe, Prof. Rapp was clearly NOT impressed by the amount of computer output you put on his desk!
"Prof. Rapp, unfortunately I can't tell you this in person anymore, but I used your exemplary answer for the rest of my academic career!'
I wish his family and close friends all the strength in these hard times.
Boudewijn van Gelder
(DoGS/OSU 1972-1978)
Swatchai Kriengkraipet
October 11, 2020
May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.
Steve Malys
October 8, 2020
Dick's open door and enthusiasm for the topics he taught were highly impactful to those of us learning from him. He inspired me, and I'm sure many others, to follow our interests with rigor.
Helmut Moritz
October 3, 2020
I met Dick Rapp in 1962 when we were both working at Ohio State University. He gave life to my dry formulas by applying them to real data.
He was one of the great international geodesists.
I remember him with gratitude.
Helmut Moritz
Grraz, Austria
Hans Sünkel
October 1, 2020
Dick's passing away makes me very sad. He was a great scientist and gifted teacher alike, but above all he was a wonderful friend.
My sympathy is with his wife Pat and his entire family.
Hans Sünkel
Graz, Austria
Hans Sünkel
September 30, 2020
Dick's passing away makes me very sad. He was a great scientist and a gifted teacher alike, but above all he was a wonderful friend.
My sympathy is with his wife Pat and the entire family.
Hans Sünkel
Friend and colleague
Graz, Austria
Heiner Denker
September 29, 2020
I am very sad after learning about the loss of Dick Rapp. He was an exceptional teacher and researcher with a phenomenal sense for the handling of real data. Although my time in the Department of Geodetic Science at The Ohio State University was only short and is now a long time ago, it was influential for my whole professional live. I still remember many details from the time with Dick Rapp and all the other people in the department and will always keep these beautiful memories in my mind, remembering Dick as an outstanding researcher and extremely friendly human being with his typical wide smile.
My sincere condolences go out to his family and all friends.
CK Shum
September 29, 2020
September 29, 2020
I am terribly saddened on my highly respected colleague's passing. I consider Professor Dick Rapp one of the scientists and mentors who significantly impacted me professionally. 23 years ago, I have the fortune to overlap with him, and learn from him, after he just retired from the Ohio State University, but decided to stay awhile before he moved to SC. He was one of the giants and faces in Geodesy, representing the Ohio State University's Department of Geodetic Science & Surveying. HIs scholarship inspired me greatly during my graduate student days, longing to learn more about gravity field of the Earth. His legacy has left invaluable knowledge and lay the foundation of the contemporary modeling of the Earth's global gravity field and its changes. I was in an email conversation with him, along with Dr. Niko Pavlis, less than a month ago, on a classic photo of the first TOPEX Science Team meeting participants at CNES, in which Dick was smiling and in the center front row. He will be greatly missed.
CK Shum
Mentee
Nikos Pavlis
September 28, 2020
I am deeply saddened by the loss of my beloved teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend. Dick was an exceptional teacher and researcher, who had the rare gift of inspiring the pursuit of excellence to his students and colleagues. His meticulous attention to detail and his intuition and understanding of the theory, were perfectly complemented by his extraordinary sense of the properties of real data. His work, the work of his graduate students, which he attentively oversaw and directed, as well as the work of the numerous international colleagues that he had invited, are in no small part responsible for the “Golden Age” of the Department of Geodetic Science and Surveying at The Ohio State University. His dedication and his approach to scientific research are invaluable gifts that he bestowed to those of us that had the good fortune to study and work with him. My sincere condolences and deepest sympathy to his wife Pat and to the other members of his family.
Alfred Leick
September 28, 2020
It was with great sorrow and surprise that I learned of the passing of Dr. Rapp. While I was attending Ohio State University, he taught me Physical Geodesy and Conformal Mapping (Map Projection). I always admired his attentiveness to the mathematical details, which inevitably benefitted his students and their careers. His rigorous treatment of conformal mapping has benefited me for 34 years while teaching the subject at the University of Maine. Dick Rapp’s energy and enthusiasm for geodesy were very contagious. I consider myself having been blessed with such an excellent teacher. He will always be remembered. My deepest condolences to his family and friends.
Alfred Leick
Glenburn, Maine
Yan Ming Wang
September 27, 2020
Dr. Rapp was my Postdoctoral advisor at the Ohio State University. He was a very important person to me, both as an excellent teacher and mentor. He was a person with an exquisite sense of numbers and personal relationships. Dr. Rapp gifted me a clock with the OSU logo and it is still on the wall of my home to this day. It reminds me of the good old time I had with Dr. Rapp and colleagues at the OSU.
Fernando Sansò
September 27, 2020
Dick has been a pillar of Geodesy. Who doesn’t know the Tscherning-Rapp model? Even more he has been a friend of mine. My friends disappear and I feel more lone
Fernando Sansò
Fernando Sansò
September 27, 2020
Dick has been one of the pillars of Geodesy. Who doesn’t know the Tscherning-Rapp model? Even more he was a friend for me. I see my friends disappearing and I feel more lone.
Fernando Sansò
Lewis Lapine
September 27, 2020
Professor Rapp was my first advisor at OSU as an undergrad in the Dept of Geodetic Science.
Athanasios Dermanis
September 27, 2020
I received the news of the loss of our great teacher and colleague with great sorrow. Dick Rapp has been one of the pillars of a legendary place and era: The Ohio State University Department of Geodetic Sciences in the 70s.
His devotion to his students and research was extraordinary, his scientific achievements helped make geodesy what it is today.
Inviting distinguished colleagues from all over the world as visiting researches, gave us students the opportunity to widen our horizons, by getting in touch with different views and schools of geodetic thought, that greatly helped us find our own scientific route.
For me personally it gave me also the opportunity to form some life-long friendships.
I learned a lot from him and I will always remember him with love and affection.
Reiner Rummel, Munich, Germany
September 27, 2020
The news of Dick Rapp's death makes me very sad. He was a great scientist. He was very important to me as a teacher, mentor, and friend.
Cheinway Hwang
September 27, 2020
I miss you, forever.
Cheinway
Vassilios Despotakis
September 26, 2020
My beloved teacher, my point of reference, test in peace now!
Tomas Soler
September 26, 2020
It is with great sorrow that I learned the sad news that Prof. Dick Rapp passed away. I was one of his students and I can attest to the invaluable contributions that Dick made to geometric and physical geodesy during his professional career. He was an international expert on these two topics and for many years fostered and illuminated the scientific minds of many scholars from around the world. I remember very well his meticulousness and particular interest in being as accurate as feasible on every formulation and/or definition. Every idea needed to be factual without any strings attached. We lost a great scientist and investigator but also a very good-natured and friendly human being. Dick you will be greatly missed. Thanks for your help during my years at OSU. My condolences are extended to his wife, Patricia, and the rest of his family. Tomás Soler Ph.D., class of 1977.
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