Gordon Wolman

M. Gordon Wolman, a professor of geography at Johns Hopkins University for more than 50 years, died February 24, 2010 at his Baltimore home. He was 85. Known by everyone as “Reds” for his bright shock of hair (which eventually became gray), Dr. Wolman was reportedly as beloved by his students as he was famous for his scientific  contributions — and that’s  saying a lot.

As a U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist during the 1950s, he and his colleague Luna Leopold published  pioneering studies on how and why rivers change — studies that are now the  foundation for modern water-resources  management and river restoration and engineering. The pair  wrote, with John  Miller, the 1964 textbook “Fluvial Processes in  Geomorphology,” considered a seminal work.