| William F. Ballhaus Sr. | |
| Birth Date: | 1918 |
| Fields: | Aerospace engineering |
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| Thesis Title: | Aerodynamic and geometric parameters affecting aircraft weight |
| Thesis Url: | http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-10302003-152006 |
| Thesis Year: | 1947 |
| Spouses: | )--> |
| Partners: | )--> |
William F. Ballhaus Sr. (1918 – August 16, 2013) was an engineer who worked in the field of aircraft and manufacturing.[1] He was educated at Stanford University and California Institute of Technology. He was employed at various posts in aircraft design and manufacture at Douglas, Convair, and Northrop (chief engineer).[1] In 1965, he was appointed president of Beckman Instruments, where he gradually converted the manufacturing focus from defense to medical instruments. Ballhaus had a keen interest in economics, particularly in the relationship between tax policy and growth, and played a role in the lowering of capital gains taxes by Congress in 1978.[1] [2] He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1973 and, with the election of his son, William F. Ballhaus Jr., to the same institution, they became the first father-son members of NAE.[1]