DURHAM, N.C. – Kenneth R. Knoerr, professor emeritus of environmental meteorology and hydrology at 91’s Nicholas School of the Environment, died April 11.

“Ken has been a long time and valued member of our faculty, and someone who had a huge impact on building our school both physically and intellectually. He will be missed,” Dean William L. Chameides said.

Information about funeral and memorial arrangements will be posted on the Nicholas School website as they become available.

Knoerr served on the Duke faculty for 50 years.  He joined the faculty in 1961 as assistant professor of forest climatology, was promoted to associate professor of forest meteorology in 1966, added a secondary appointment as associate professor of biometeorology in 1968, and became professor of forest meteorology and hydrology in 1972.  He became professor emeritus in 2002.

He served as director of graduate studies for Environmental Sciences and Policy from 1995 until 2007, advising and mentoring literally thousands of students during his tenure.

“During the formative years of the Nicholas School, Ken was always someone I could rely on, not only for an historical perspective, but to pitch in wherever he was needed.  He was a terrific mentor and friend,” said Norman L. Christensen Jr., professor of ecology and founding dean of the Nicholas School, who was a longtime colleague of Knoerr.

An expert on mountain meteorology, microclimatology, forest fire behavior and watershed hydrology, Knoerr was the author of more than 50 peer-reviewed studies, and was  widely cited for his research on issues related to the management of forest lands.  His studies shed new light on how forests interact with the atmosphere, and helped pioneer the development of physical models for plant-environment interaction.

More recently, he focused his scholarly expertise on a comprehensive retrospective investigation of more than 100 forest fires that have occurred in the United States in the last century.  Each of the fires was marked by unexpected fire behavior that caused sudden, unforeseen changes in the fire’s spread or intensity, trapping firefighters, often with the loss of lives.  Knoerr’s research was aimed at identifying common causes for these unexpected changes  – including  wind behavior in mountainous terrain and the potential flammability of forest fuels –  so that forest managers and firefighters can improve safety and reduce the loss of life.

Knoerr received a PhD in forest meteorology from Yale University in 1961, and a Master of Forestry 91 in silviculture from Yale in 155.  He earned a bachelor’s 91 in forest management from the University of Idaho in 1952.  Prior to joining the Duke faculty in 1961, he worked as a research forester with the U.S. Forest Service from 1956 to 1961, serving in both Berkeley, Calif., and Columbus, Ohio.

He was a member of the American Geophysical Union, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Meteorological Society and Sigma Xi honor society.