Veikko Aleksanteri Heiskanen

Veikko Aleksanteri Heiskanen (V. A. Heiskanen; also spelled Weikko Aleksanteri (or W. A.) Heiskanen; 23 July 1895 – 23 October 1971) was a Finnish geodesist and geophysicist.^[1][2] He was known for his refinement of George Biddell Airy and John Henry Pratt's theories of isostasy into his own, the Heiskanen hypothesis.^[3][4] With Felix Andries Vening Meinesz, he wrote the textbook The Earth and its Gravity Field (1958),^[5][6] and in 1960 a paper by Heiskanen, "The latest achievements of physical geodesy" was discussed in the scientific literature.^[7] With Helmut Moritz, Heiskanen wrote the textbook Physical Geodesy (1967), which became a standard text the field of geodesy and for the study of the geoid.^[8][9] Heiskanen's doctoral students include Ivan I. Mueller.

Heiskanen in 1936

Born c. 23 July 1895^[a] in Kangaslampi, Finland, he grew up on a small farm. He attended the University of Helsinki and in three years received a Candidate in Philosophy degree (some texts state he received the Master of Science degree).^[10][11] In 1927 he received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the university.^[12]

The Kaarina and Weikko A. Heiskanen Fund endows the Kaarina and Weikko A. Heiskanen Award,^[13] which is awarded annually by the Ohio State University.^[14] The university hosted the Weikko A. Heiskanen Symposium in Geodesy in 2002 to celebrate that geodesy had been studied at Ohio State for 50 years.^[15]

A book, Surveyor of the Globe, was written as a biography of Heiskanen by Juhani A. Kakkuri [fi] and published in 2008 and 2017.^[16][17]

Career chronology

• Senior geodesist – Finnish Geodetic Institute (1921–1928)
• Lecturer in geodesy – University of Helsinki (1926–?)
• Professor of geodesy – Finland Institute of Technology (1928–1949)
• Chief of the Geodetic Section – Finland Institute of Technology (1935–1949)
• Director – International Isostatic Institute (1936–?)
• Member – Finnish Parliament (1933–1936)
• Chairman – Finnish Geographical Society (1941–1942)

Source: Nature, 1949.^[18]

Notes

1. This is the accepted date in most biographical works.