William Knapp, UCLA Professor, Dies at 69
William J. Knapp, one of the first faculty members of the UCLA engineering department and an authority on ceramics, died Wednesday of injuries he suffered while jogging on San Vicente Boulevard in Brentwood
A university spokesman said Knapp, 69, had been jogging in the bicycle lane about three blocks from his home and apparently had been struck by a hit-and-run driver. He was taken to St. John’s Medical Center in Santa Monica, where efforts to save him failed.
Knapp received his doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and joined the then two-year-old UCLA engineering faculty in 1947.
His research, publications and patents on the development and use of ceramics for surgical implants and building materials were recognized by his election as a fellow in the elite American Ceramics Society.
In addition, he was recipient of two Fulbright Awards and an award from the Royal Norwegian Counsel for scientific and industrial research.
Survivors include his wife, Nancy; a son; daughter; sister, and two grandchildren.
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