Farewell
Jerry Angelides (B.S.’47 ME) died in June at the age of 100. A veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps, he worked for the Office of the State Architect and for the city of Sacramento.
Ramon Belshe (M.S.’71 CE) died in March at the age of 91. During his career, he worked for the Federal Aviation Agency, and later, as a technician and engineering manager.
Vladislav Ako Bevc (B.S.’57, M.S.’58, Ph.D.’61 EECS) died in May 2022 at the age of 90. A professor at the Naval Post-Graduate School in Monterey, he also worked for Hughes Aircraft, Aerospace Corp., Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the California State Public Utilities Commission.
Mark Butler (B.S.’78 ME) died in January at the age of 66. He earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Johns Hopkins University and had a 40-year career at Northrop Grumman as an engineering manager.
Scott Campbell (Ph.D.’94 CE) died in January at the age of 60. A faculty member at the American University of Armenia and The Ohio State University, he was also vice president at the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association.
William Colter (M.S.’70 CE) died in June at the age of 79. The founder of Dynamic Ventilation, he also worked for the U.S. Federal Highway Administration and Sprinchorn & Co.
Laurence DeCuir (B.S.’48 EECS) died in April at the age of 100. He contributed to the Manhattan Project in the Army Air Corps. After graduating, he worked in communications and aerospace, with major contributions to satellite tracking.
Paul Dennig Jr. (B.S.’21, MEng ’22 ME) died in May at the age of 24. As a student, he worked on a variety of research projects, including the development of predictive control schemes for robots.
John Duckett (B.S.’56 IEOR) died in August at the age of 94. An Air Force veteran, he invented the QuickChange Movable Barrier, which is used today on many of the world’s busiest roadways and bridges.
Beverley Duer (Ph.D.’62 IEOR) died in August at the age of 95. He worked at CPC International and consulted for the Department of Defense, among other positions.
Guy Embree (B.S.’44 ME) died in January at the age of 100. In the U.S. Navy, he helped to pioneer the precursor of the modern airplane flight recorder. For over 40 years, he worked as the chief operating officer of Embree Buses, Inc.
David Feather (M.S.’69, Ph.D.’72 MSE) died in June. He worked for Xerox Corp, then joined Torey Pines Research, working in product development.
William Fothergill Jr. (B.S.’49 ME) died in June at the age of 99. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, then had a long career with General Motors, retiring as plant engineer.
Dennis Gee (B.S.’66, M.S.’68, Ph.D.’74 CE) died in April at the age of 78. He worked as a hydraulic engineer with the Corps of Engineers for 43 years.
James Gierlich (B.S.’46 CE) died in February at the age of 97. He joined the U.S. Marines Corps Reserves, retiring at the rank of lieutenant colonel, and had his own water and wastewater engineering firm, Gierlich-Mitchell, Inc.
Hugo Hanson (B.S.’51, M.S.’69 CE) died in February at the age of 95. He first worked on water resource projects, including the Briones Dam, then worked as a geotechnical engineer.
Donald Javete (M.S.’54, Ph.D.’83 CE) died in January at the age of 93. He was the managing partner at Dames & Moore and, later, worked as a private consultant.
Alfred Kaehler (B.S.’44 ME) died in December 2022 at the age of 101. He worked on the Manhattan Project at the Berkeley Rad Lab, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and later, at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He also worked at SRI, Lockheed and Raychem.
Harold Knudsen (B.S.’58, M.S.’60, Ph.D.’62 EECS) died in May at the age of 86. He began his career at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory, then worked at the University of New Mexico as an electrical engineering professor.
William Langbehn (B.S.’84, MEng’86 CE) died in May at the age of 61. He was the founder of the Langbehn Geotechnical Group, working as an engineer throughout the Bay Area.
Allan Lichtenberg, professor emeritus of electrical engineering and computer sciences, died in February at the age of 92. A pioneering researcher on high-temperature plasma, nonlinear dynamics and energy utilization, he chaired the newly-formed Energy and Resources Graduate Group from 1974–78.
Adolf May, professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering, died in August at the age of 96. A pioneer in highway transportation, he invented metering lights, setting up the first ramp meter in 1963. He was also a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
Edward McLaughlin (B.S.’55 IEOR) died in February at the age of 93. He had a long career in aerospace at Collins Radio, Celesco Industries and Brunswick Defense.
Thomas Mill (B.S.’57 CE) died in March at the age of 91. After serving in the U.S. Army, he joined the family business, Mill Construction Co., working as a general contractor.
Paul Rodgers (B.S.’52 EECS) died in March at the age of 94. A commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy, he worked for several large data system companies and as an electronics manufacturing representative.
Donald Sharman (B.S.’50 IEOR) died in February at the age of 97. In World War II, he served in the U.S. Army. Later, he ran a successful independent engineering firm.
Donald Shayler (B.S.’62 CE) died in February at the age of 84. He ran Pacific Rim, the first civil engineering office in Palm Desert, CA.
Richard Simpson (B.S.’56 EECS) died in July at the age of 93. A U.S. Navy veteran, he founded a company that specialized in naval electronics and weapon systems and was the vice president for the Rucker Company. In 1973, he became the first chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Division.
Jesse Skidmore (B.S.’02 Eng. Phys.) died in January at the age of 43. He served for 20 years in the U.S. Navy and was a captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He went on to work for the Department of Defense at the Pentagon and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.
Paul Smith (Ph.D.’71 CE) died in December 2022 at the age of 87. After working at Auburn University and NASA, he joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, specializing in piping safety for nuclear power plants.
Harry Spence (B.S.’62 Metallurgy) died in March at the age of 87. He had a distinguished 40-year career in the electronics industry.
Donald Sudnikoff (B.S.’65 EECS) died in February at the age of 79. He spent over 20 years in the U.S. Navy and the Naval Reserves with the rank of commander. He also worked as an engineer for AT&T.
Fermin Viteri (B.S.’52 ME) died in February at the age of 93. He worked at Aerojet and later co-founded Clean Energy Systems.
James Willis (M.S.’56 CE) died in May. He was a structural engineer with Blaylock Willis Engineering.
Fred Womble (B.S.’45 EECS) died in February at the age of 98. He worked for Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for nearly four decades.