Farewell
Paal Bakstad (B.S.’62 NE) died in November at the age of 86. A trained nuclear engineer, he spent his career at the Norwegian Atomic Energy Institute and TRW Inc. He later worked for 10 years as a substitute teacher in public schools.
George Ban-Weiss (B.S.’03, M.S.’05 ME) died in October at the age of 40. An associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Southern California, he researched ways to counter the impacts of climate change and reduce public exposure to air pollutants. He won a National Science Foundation Early Career Award and was named to MIT Technology Review’s “35 under 35” list, among other accolades.
Richard Blum died in February at the age of 86. A successful investment banker and graduate of the Haas School of Business, he was known for his extensive philanthropy and service. In 2006, he founded UC Berkeley’s Blum Center for Developing Economies, a multidisciplinary research center addressing global poverty and inequity through education and technology. He also served as a UC regent for nearly two decades and was chairman emeritus of the board.
Ernest Cravalho (B.S.’61, M.S.’62, Ph.D.’67 ME) died in April 2021 at the age of 82. A professor emeritus of mechanical engineering at MIT, he was a member of their faculty for 44 years, holding leadership roles at MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital. He was a pioneering researcher in cryopreservation, thermodynamics, heat transfer and energy conversion.
Didier de Fontaine, professor emeritus of materials science and engineering, died in November at the age of 90. He was a pioneer in the field of ab-initio alloy theory, where he paved the way for the modern discipline of computational materials science. He also made seminal contributions to the fields of phase transformations and materials thermodynamics.
Angelo Demattei (B.S.’50 CE) died in October at the age of 95. He served in the Merchant Marines during World War II and in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He spent his career at Guy F. Atkinson Co., working on Pakistan’s Mangla Dam and the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo, California, among other projects.
John Dracup (Ph.D.’66 CE), professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering, died in December at the age of 87. He joined the Berkeley faculty in 2000, after serving for 35 years on the faculty at UCLA. His research centered on the impact of climate change on hydraulic processes and the optimization of groundwater and large-scale river basin systems. He also conducted clean water projects in Africa, Central America and South America, and in retirement, focused his expertise on providing sustainable clean water systems in developing countries.
Peter Dunne III (B.S.’57 EECS) died in October at the age of 91. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. Following graduation, he spent his career as an electrical engineer in Silicon Valley, most notably at Ampex Corp.
Galen Etemad (Ph.D.’54 ME) died in October at the age of 98. A thermodynamics expert, he had a distinguished career in the aerospace industry, working at The Martin Co., Lockheed Missiles and Space Co., Bell Labs and North American Aviation, where he led the team that designed the heat shields used on all Apollo missions to allow for safe re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.
William Flowers (B.S.’44 EECS) died in September at the age of 98. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and then embarked on a 40-year engineering career with Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
James “Jay” Graham (B.S.’56 EECS) died in October at the age of 92. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1948–52. Following graduation, he began his career with the North American Aviation Apollo Space Program, then worked at General Electric Co. for 30 years.
Deane Judd (B.S.’60, M.S.’68 EECS) died in December at the age of 84. He served as an officer in the U.S. Navy; afterwards, he spent his career working in Silicon Valley, largely at Amdahl Corp. He was also an airport advisory commissioner for the Hollister Municipal Airport.
Hans Mark died in December at the age of 92. He was a world-renowned aerospace engineer whose work was essential to the development of advanced nuclear technology, government aeronautics and early space exploration. He served as chair of Berkeley’s Department of Nuclear Engineering and as administrator of the Berkeley Research Reactor from 1964–69. He went on to serve as director of NASA’s Ames Research Center, secretary of the U.S. Air Force, director of the National Reconnaissance Office, deputy administrator of NASA and director of defense research and engineering at the Pentagon, as well as chancellor of the University of Texas system.
Robert Renouf (B.S.’66 EECS) died in March 2021 at the age of 77. He served in the U.S. Air Force Reserves from 1966–72. Later, he worked for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and the City of Oakland, and he was also an electrical engineering consultant.
Daniel Rydzewski (M.S.’93 CE) died in January at the age of 60. He had a long career in transportation, traffic management and related information technology systems. He spent most of his career working for the cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, enhancing public highway systems.
Bit Seto (B.S.’64, M.S.’64 EECS) died in December at the age of 79. Over his long career, he worked for various companies in the Silicon Valley as an engineering manager on sensors used in manufacturing.
Hsieh Wen Shen (Ph.D.’61 CE), professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering, died in December at the age of 90. He joined the Berkeley faculty in 1985, after 18 years at Colorado State University. A member of the National Academy of Engineering, he was a leading researcher of environmental hydraulics, river mechanics and basic sediment transport. He was best known for his work to restore southern Florida’s Kissimmee River and his role in boosting research of the San Francisco Bay.
John Winzler (B.S.’51 CE) died in December at the age of 91. For over 40 years, he was the president and principal engineer of Winzler and Kelly Consulting Engineers. He was also the principal engineer for the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District and president of the California Board of Registration for Professional Engineers.
