history

William M. Kays attended Stanford University and earned three degrees: a BA in engineering, 1942, MS in mechanical engineering, 1947, and a PhD in mechanical engineering, 1951. He worked as a research associate while still a student and subsequently joined the faculty in the mechanical engineering department. In 1961 he became department chairman. He served 11 years as chair before being appointed dean of the School of Engineering in 1972. He served as dean from 1972 to 1984. In 1984 he was named the Lewis M. Terman Professor of Engineering, an appointment he held until 1987. He became professor emeritus in 1990.

Under Kay’s leadership as dean, all of Stanford’s engineering departments ranked in the top five in their graduate fields nationally. The school increased its external funding of research and expanded the number of students, particularly women. The Center for Integrated Systems, the Institute of Energy Studies, and the Blume Earthquake Center all were established during his tenure.

Kays was a Fulbright lecturer (1959-60) and National Science Foundation fellow (1966-67). He received the American Society of Mechanical Engineers annual award for outstanding contributions to the science of heat transfer in 1965, and he was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering in 1977. In 1992, Kays was honored to receive the Max Jakob Memorial Award for his contributions to the field of heat transfer and his outstanding leadership in research and teaching.

Kays is the author of over 60 technical papers on compact heat exchangers, convective heat transfer and boundary layer theory. His books include Compact Heat Exchangers (1984) and Convective Heat and Mass Transfer (1980).