Donald Vern Keller

Donald Vern Keller, age 90, passed on March 12, 2021 in Albuquerque, NM. Donald Keller took an A.B. in physics from Harvard in 1952, and a PhD from U.C. Berkeley in 1957 in high energy particle physics. He was part if the team who discovered the antiproton, and his team made the first measurements of the interactions of antiprotons with solid matter. In 1965, he became one of the 16 finalists for the NASA Scientist- Astronaut for the Apollo Program where he met Harrison Schmidt, the future astronaut from New Mexico. Then he got serious...

In 1969 he founded Effects Technology, Inc. This company performed experiments simulating nuclear weapons effects on materials in the laboratory and the Nevada Test Site NTS. At the end of 1971, Don founded KTech Corporation in Santa Barbara, California with three people specializing in shock physics and weapons testing at NTS. Don and Ktech moved to Albuquerque, NM in 1973 to support a new contract with the Air Force to operate their Material Response Impact Facility and perform scientific research.

In 1979, KTech's world-class shock physics personnel began to operate, maintain, and design experiments for Sandia's Pulsed Power Research Center that contained state-of-the-art world class accelerators. KTech later supported other pulsed power projects, including systems for the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. KTech operated and performed experiments on Sandia's ion beam fusion accelerators, the largest in the world. KTech was Sandia's largest contractor. KTech was regularly recognized in the New Mexico Flying 40 as one of the state's top high-tech firms.

To Don, it was important to not only have established a company with a solid reputation for science and service, but to have created enjoyable, yet challenging, work environment for its employees. In 1988, KTech reinforced its commitment to employees by becoming an employee-owned company at no cost to the employees.

Don retired from KTech in 2005. At that time KTech employed 600 people in three companies: KTech, Tech Reps, ASAP and Poly-Flow Engineering. Under Don's leadership, KTech became a leader in designing techniques to reliably measure and model dynamic material response and properties-measurements of effects that last less than an microsecond- and also fabrication sensors, manufacturing several commercial products, and providing technical services to Sandia, Government Agencies and businesses. KTech was purchased by Ratheon in 2011.

He was always an athlete. He was a great skier, tennis player and mountain climber. He enjoyed photography and even learned to play the piano in the last years of his life. He is survived by his wife Sheila, daughter Leslie, son Tom Keller, and sister Natalie.

In lieu of flowers please donate to Doctors Without Borders