Farewell
Aristotle Arapostathis (M.S.’78, Ph.D.’82 EECS) died in May at the age of 67. He was on the faculty of the electrical and computer engineering department at the University of Texas at Austin, where his research focused on how to optimally steer time in uncertain processes.
Jon Asselanis (M.S.’93 CE) died in April at the age of 62. His career as a materials scientist included positions at Consolidated Engineering Laboratories, the International Cement Microscopy Association, Berkeley’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Schwein Christensen Labs Inc.
Patrick Creegan (M.S.’87, D.Eng.’91 CE) died in July at the age of 96. He worked around the world as a civil, structural, geotechnical and dam engineer, including projects in Nicaragua, Dubai and India. A lifelong learner, he received his doctorate in engineering from Berkeley at the age of 67.
William H. Crim III (B.S.’64 EECS) died in December 2020 at the age of 83. He was the owner of SAS Engineering.
Leonard Daley (B.S.’54 ME) died in July at the age of 96. He served in the U.S. Merchant Marines during World War II and later in the U.S. Navy Reserves, achieving the rank of commander. He was also the chief administrative officer for the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard during the Vietnam War and had a 40-year career with General Electric.
Greg DesBrisay (B.S.’83 EECS) died in July 2020 at the age of 60. He was a radio frequency engineer who pioneered wireless technology at several start-ups — including CellNet, Cellular Data Inc. and Clarity Wireless. He also worked as a consultant with Pacific Gas and Electric for the SmartMeter program.
Sigmund Freeman (B.S.’55, M.S.’57 CE) died in April at the age of 88. He was an internationally recognized expert in seismic engineering, known for creating influential technical models and analytical tools. He performed on-site earthquake damage assessments following four major West Coast earthquakes, developed methods to predict earthquake damage and drafted codes for earthquake-resistant construction.
Charles Gillespie (M.S.’61 CE) died in August at the age of 86. He was a public health engineer before joining Gillespie and Powers, where he worked in metal recovery for 57 years.
George Greenwood (B.S.’54 CE) died in July at the age of 93. He attended Berkeley after serving with the U.S. Navy during World War II. After graduating, he worked as an engineer for the San Francisco Bay Bridge and on buildings for Wildman and Morris. He later joined the structural engineering firm H.J. Degenkolb and Associates, where he ultimately became a partner.
Kurt Hess (B.S.’66 CE) died in June 2020 at the age of 76. He was a member of the Office of Coast Survey for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where he pioneered many early coastal ocean modeling initiatives. He also co-founded VDatum and was co-developer of the Chesapeake Bay Operational Forecast System.
Robert Keller (Ph.D.’70) died in September 2020 at the age of 76. He was a professor at Harvey Mudd College, where he served as the first chair of the newly formed computer science department. He also created the free open-source software Impro-Visor, which analyzes a user’s musical playing in order to advise them as they craft a solo.
William King (B.S.’57 ME) died in April at the age of 85. An expert in the field of fluid mechanics, he built a career of more than 40 years in aerospace engineering at firms such as Rockwell International, Aerospace Corp. and the Rand Corp. He also taught mathematics at Santa Monica Community College and Los Angeles City College.
John Lucas (B.S.’49 Agricultural Eng.) died in June at the age of 98. He joined the Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1954, where he participated in the early missions to the moon, Venus and Mars. From 1977 until his retirement in 1985, he was project manager for the development of technology for solar thermal parabolic dish electricity generation. He was also involved with the John W. Lucas Adaptive Wind Tunnel at Caltech.
Cornell Maier (B.S.’49 EECS) died in August at the age of 96. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corp. and of its successor company, KaiserTech. During his tenure as CEO, he launched several community service programs, and he was an active East Bay philanthropist in retirement.
John Morton died in January at the age of 75. He built a 23-year career as a machinist working in the mechanical engineering department at Berkeley, designing and building apparati in support of engineering research. He later learned to construct metal resophonic stringed instruments that, after his retirement, became a part-time business.
David Redo (B.S.’59 EECS) died in November 2020 at the age of 83. After receiving his MBA from Santa Clara University, he pursued a career in finance, including roles as president of Sierra Asset Management and CEO and founder of Fremont Investment Advisors.
John Robertson (B.S.’57 EECS) died in June at the age of 89. His career began with jobs at RCA and IBM and led to management positions at Zeltex Inc. and Preco Electronics. His 21 years of leading Preco included the acquisition of Santa Clara Plastics (SCP Global Technologies) and the development of a manufacturing facility.
Martin Wachs, professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering and of city and regional planning, died in April at the age of 79. An outstanding teacher and mentor, he was a leading researcher on transportation finance and policy, as well as environmental justice. He was also the founder of UCLA’s Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) and the former director of ITS Berkeley.
George Wilson (B.S.’54, M.S.’57, Ph.D.’64 ME) died in July at the age of 87. He began his career at the Boeing Co., where he worked on noise control and vibration isolation related to the B-52 aircraft. He then returned to Berkeley for his Ph.D., teaching mechanical engineering and developing the fundamentals of acoustics course. In 1966, he founded Wilson Ihrig and Associates, an acoustical consulting firm, where he served as president until his retirement.
Howard Winegarden (B.S.’50 IEOR) died in June at the age of 94. He came to Berkeley after serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Following graduation, he worked for Owens Illinois Glass Co. for 32 years, retiring as a vice president.
