Louis F. Wouters

Louis F. Wouters of Patterson died Aug. 23. He was 94.

Wouters was born Oct. 29, 1921 in Antwerp, Belgium. At age three, his parents emigrated to California. He graduated in 1938 from University High School in Oakland, California, and then attended UC Berkeley where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1942 and a doctorate in physics in 1951. Wouters was interested in radio and electronics at an early age, which led to a part-time job during his undergraduate years at Berkeley working on the development of the 37-inch cyclotron for Ernest O. Lawrence. In 1942, he joined the Manhattan project to work on the development of the Calutron method of enriching uranium, first at Berkeley and later at Oak Ridge.

In September of 1952, he joined the University of California Radiation Laboratory (UCRL) at its newly founded Livermore site. After Lawrence’s death, it became the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory and later the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. More than any other individual, Wouters was responsible for the development and improvement of prompt diagnostic measurements for the Livermore atmospheric testing program during the 1950s and early 1960s. Much of this technology carried over to the underground test program. Later, his early electronics background steered him to investigate a nuclear phenology that became known as Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP). Wouters worked on internal, over the horizon, underground and high altitude EMP. He remained active in EMP related areas for the remainder of his career until his retirement in 1991. He was a founding pillar of the EMP community where he published countless papers.

Wouters was a devoted family man. He was involved in his church. He enjoyed life and helping others. He is survived by his wife Gladys and his step-children Glenn (Susan), Clark (Amy) and Amy (Dale). Other survivors include his grandchildren: Melody (Andrew), Dara (Michael), Andrew, Ben, Cate, Brandon and Rachel and his two great-grandchildren Cal and Phillip.