Walter Munk
American Meteorological Society Oral History Project
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On September 28, 1994, Lawrence Armi interviewed Walter Munk. The interview explores Munk's formative years in Austria, including his passion for skiing and tennis, and his education under a private tutor before attending a gymnasium and later emigrating to the United States. Sent to New York to train as a banker for his family's business, Munk describes his dissatisfaction with the profession, leading him to pursue studies at Caltech starting in 1937. Munk recounts his transition from banking to science, detailing his unconventional entry to Caltech and his early academic experiences. He reflects on his shift to oceanography, catalyzed by a summer job at Scripps Institution of Oceanography under Harald Sverdrup in 1939, where he began exploring internal wave theory and authored his first scientific paper. The interview captures Munk's observations on his early career trajectory, including his transition to Scripps for doctoral studies and his work with notable figures like Beno Gutenberg.
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