Named in honor of Dennis D. Wellnitz (b. 1951), University of Maryland instrument builder, observer, data analyst and all-around physicist. Wellnitz has designed and developed a wide variety of astronomical instrumentation, and he has participated in many major observational programs, including occultations by minor planets and comets and the 1994 cometary collision with Jupiter. His work with the NEAR mission has resulted in improved signal-to-noise spectra from the near-infrared spectrometer, contributing to the mineralogical analysis of the surface of (433) Eros. Wellnitz' thorough, detailed studies and his great patience are particularly appreciated by his colleagues. Name proposed by J. Veverka, based on a suggestion by L. A. McFadden. Citation by McFadden and M. F. A'Hearn.