Walter H. Haas was born on July 3, 1917 in New Waterford, Ohio. Early in life, he was interested in astronomy. He graduated from New Waterford High School in 1934. He later attended Mt. Union College in Alliance, Ohio, earning a B.S. in mathematics in 1939. Haas continued his education at Ohio State University in Columbus earning a M.A. in Mathematics in 1941. At the end of the war, Haas accepted a position teaching mathematics at the University of New Mexico (UNM) in Albuquerque where he remained until 1950. He was the founder of Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO) and "The Strolling Astronomer," the monthly bulletin of the ALPO. Haas then accepted a position at the White Sands Proving Ground (now White Sands Missile Range) in 1950, working on early computer programming applications in a civil service capacity. He worked there until 1954, when he started work for the Physical Science Laboratory (PSL) based at the New Mexico College of Agriculture & Mechanic Arts (now New Mexico State University). Still interested in astronomy, he was a charter member of the Astronomical Society of Las Cruces in 1951. Haas also taught mathematics in the late 1950s. In 1959 Haas accepted a faculty teaching position at Pan American College in Edinburg, Texas (now University of Texas-Pan American). He worked there for three years, and then returned to Las Cruces to work for PSL. He retired from there in 1983.
From the description of Walter H. Haas papers, 1935-2002. (New Mexico State University). WorldCat record id: 56960294
