In Memoriam

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L. Willard (Will) Richards died Sunday at his home in Santa Rosa at the age of 89, with his wife Nancy by his side. He was born July 11, 1932, in Provo, Utah to Ren and Zilla Richards. He grew up in Riverside, CA, was an Eagle Scout, received a BS from Caltech, and...

Arsine Victoria Avakian, my wife, died in May, three months before her 81st birthday. Vicki was one of those exceptional people who enrich the lives ofeveryone they know. Vicki and I married at the end of summer in 1963, after receiving our SB degrees in physics from...

Donald Hanly Sweet passed away peacefully at age 98 on May 12, 2022 after suffering a stroke, less than three months after the passing of Beth Sweet, his beloved wife of 73 years. Don will be remembered for his kindness, integrity, and intellect, and for being a...

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Sally Evans, C&EN Graduation Year:[ba_dual_button btn_alignment="center" btn_a_text="Go Back" btn_a_link="" btn_b_text="Home" btn_b_link="" button_gap="10px" _builder_version="4.25.2" _dynamic_attributes="btn_a_link,btn_b_link"...

Charles Richard “Dick” Johnson died peacefully at his home in El Segundo surrounded by his family on March 31, 2022, aged 85 years. Dick was born in Lewiston Idaho to Lillian H. and Charles J. Johnson. His lifelong interests included classical music, cooking and fly...

Distinguished Alumnus Arthur D. (Art) Riggs (PhD '66), a pioneering geneticist, world-renowned expert in diabetes, and dedicated friend of Caltech, died March 23, 2022. He was 82. Graduation Year:[ba_dual_button btn_alignment="center" btn_a_text="Go Back"...

Caltech Distinguished Alumnus Eugene Parker (PhD '51) passed away on March 15 at age 94. Parker was a pioneer in the field of heliophysics, the study of the sun and how it affects Earth, the planets in our solar system, and space beyond. In 1958, Parker correctly...

Guy Allen Thompson, Jr. was born in 1931 in the midst of the Depression, in the small Mississippi Delta farming town of Rosedale. He attended Mississippi State College, participated in the Air Force ROTC program and graduated in 1953 with a BS in Chemistry with...

Terrill Willard Hendrickson, fondly known to friends and family as “Tim,” 76, passed away Thursday, January 20, 2022, in Kirkland, with his beloved wife Jennifer at his side. Tim was born in Seattle on September 25, 1945, to parents Willard and Elsie Hendrickson. He...

William ‘Bill’ Andrew Freeman, age 68, of Austin, Texas has passed away on February 19, 2022 of natural causes. He was a beloved father, grandfather, and friend to many. He was born in Nashville, TN and went to Isaac Litton High School, graduating in 1971. He later...

Ted Rogers worked at Intuitive Surgical for the past 15 years, most recently as the Vice President of Vision Systems.  Before he worked at Intuitive Surgical he worked at Asyst Technologies, Edge Technologies and briefly had a private consulting business.  He was...

Wilmington, DE - Dr. Alan Dubin, 83, passed away peacefully on February 1, 2022 at Christiana Care Hospital after a brief illness. Alan was born in Cincinnati, OH. He received a PhD from the California Institute of Technology in Chemistry in 1967 and joined Dupont in...

Richard A. Dean was Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus, Richard A. Dean (BS ’45). He passed away on January 27; he was 97. A complete obituary will be posted to this page soon. Graduation Year:[ba_dual_button btn_alignment="center" btn_a_text="Go Back" btn_a_link=""...

Deborah (Debbie, Deb) Rebecca Shnek, Ph.D, passed away peacefully at her home in Sammamish, Washington, on Saturday, January 15, 2022 at the premature age of 54, after a long, heroic battle with cancer. At her side was her loving and supportive husband, Frode...

BY ANDREW MYERS -James L. “Jim” Adams, professor emeritus of mechanical engineering and an expert in creativity and product design, passed away surrounded by family at his home on the Stanford campus on January 15, 2022; he was 87. Adams was a true “maker” – a...

Welko Elton Gasich of Los Angeles, California, passed away on Friday evening, January 14, 2022, of heart failure with his beloved wife by his side. Welko was born March 28, 1922, in the small farming community of Cupertino, California, to Elija and Catherine (Paviso)...

Martin Walt passed away on December 15, 2021 after a brief battle with cancer. He was 95 years old at the time of his death. Martin was born in West Plains, Missouri but spent most of his childhood in La Crescenta, CA, graduating from Glendale High School in 1944. It...