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Famed Oceanographer To Have Part Of La Jolla Shores Boardwalk Named In His Honor

Walter Munk holds a copy of The Rotation of the Earth, a book he co-wrote in 1960, March 9, 2016.
Katie Schoolov
Walter Munk holds a copy of The Rotation of the Earth, a book he co-wrote in 1960, March 9, 2016.

A section of the La Jolla Shores boardwalk where famed oceanographer Walter Munk performed experiments as far back as the 1940s will be named in his honor Wednesday.

The stretch will be dedicated as Walter Munk Way under the city of San Diego's honorary street naming program.

Munk became a professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1939, provided forecasting for tides and waves that assisted the allies in World War II and helped found UC San Diego. He's been referred to as the "Einstein of the Oceans."

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Councilwoman Barbara Bry, who represents La Jolla, said Munk — who turns 100 on Thursday — still conducts research.

UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla, Sen. Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, and Assemblyman Todd Gloria, D-San Diego, are also scheduled to attend the ceremony, which starts at 3 p.m.

The city's honorary street naming program, which started this year, has recognized "Star Wars" actor Mark Hamill in Clairemont, community leader Kathleen Harmon in Skyline and former city Councilman and county Supervisor Leon Williams.