Class Notes

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1940s

JOHN C. ALRICH (B.S. 1948 EECS)

of Santa Barbara, California, writes, “I still remember the great two years I spent getting my bachelor’s and the wonderful friends I met there. I wonder if my old haunts are still in operation, like Termite Terrace, where we always had a full breakfast to get us started for a solid day of learning.”

ROBERT D. ANDREWS (B.S. 1947 ME)

of Lincoln, California, retired 14 years ago from Bechtel after spending 27 years on worldwide assignments.

Donald Alden (B.S. 1947 CE)

of Carmichael writes,"This year I finally retired after 37 years with Caltrans, followedby 18 years part-time with Imbsen & Associates as a bridgeengineer. Now I am a successful world class veteran rower—asport I learned at Cal. "

John Alrich (B.S. 1948 EECS)

of Santa Barbara is retired from Xerox. He writes, "After World War II I returned to college at UCLA and UC Berkeley. It was a wonderful experience. My most memorable class was the senior class given by John Whinnery. John, I still don't know what 'curl' is!"

Howard Anderson (B.S. 1949 CE)

of Carson City, Nevada, is still involved in highway safety and design and works in many states. He also enjoys traveling here and abroad.

Charles Avery (B.S. 1947 Metallurgy)

of Sparks, Nevada, writes, "I left smoggy, noisy, frenetic L.A. in 1999 for quiet, big sky, scenic, clean air, rural Washoe County, Nevada, near Reno. Keeping healthy and busy with old accounts, home improvement, gardening, fitness, photography, nature, friends, dancing, community events, and studying in and organizing my extensive

ROBERT BARBER (B.S. 1948 ME)

has been retired for 22 years and is still enjoying it. He grows and occasionally sells maple and juniper bonsai plants.

LEONARD C. BEANLAND (B.S. 1949 ME)

of Castro Valley, California, writes, “I retired from PG&E after 35 years. I’m enjoying retirement with my wife of 61 years.”

ALVIN P. BEISER (B.S. 1949 CEE)

of San Mateo, California, is retired after working in large buildings and heavy construction.

Rino Bei (B.S. 1948 CE)

moved to Sonoma, Calif., in1999. He turned 80 in July and has seven children and 18grandchildren. E-mail:

Nathaniel Bercovitz (B.S. 1941, M.S. 1952 EECS)

of Beaverton, Oregon, writes, "I'm urging the U.S. government to be honest and compassionate."

CHARLES D. CARROLL (B.S. 1945 ME)

is retired and living in San Jose.

FREDERICK E. COOPER (B.S. 1940 EECS)

of Pasadena, California, writes, “I retired 32 years ago from my consulting engineering business. Now trying to teach disadvantaged young people how to earn money with their computers.”

Theodore Cohn (Unknown 1948)

UC Berkeley professor of optometry and bioengineering, died in May of lymphoma at age 64. He joined the faculty in 1970 as assistant professor of physiological optics and was given a joint appointment in bioengineering after helping establish that department in 1998. For the last 15 years of his career, he applied his knowledge of vision science to solving practical problems in transportation engineering. Before he died, he was investigating methods for improving railroad crossing safety.

George Cooper (B.S. 1940 mining and metallurgy)

of Saratoga, California, is manager and winemaker of Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards. He retired in 1973 as chief of flight operations and chief research pilot after 28 years with NASA Ames Research Center. From 1974 to 1986 he was an aerospace consultant for aviation safety and human factors.

Don Cunningham (B.S. 1943, M.S. 1944 ME)

died last December in Penn Valley, Nevada, at age 85. On Berkeley's mechanical engineering faculty for more than 40 years, he made significant contributions in medical applications, especially in ballistocardiography and automotive/wheelchair designs to facilitate driving for the handicapped.

Alvin Davidson (B.S. 1948 ME)

of Stockton retired in October 2003 from Acme Trucks, Inc., where he was chairman of the board. He worked for Acme Truck Parts and Equipment, Inc.; Specialty Truck Parts, Inc.; and Acme Lift Trucks, Inc.

John Duryea (B.S. 1944 EE)

of Chambersburg ,Pennsylvania , is a towrope specialist and flight data manager forMid-Atlantic Soaring in Fairfield . He is also treasurer for theChambersburg Community Chorus and ran the Fencers' Club shortcourse for grades 5-8 at his local Montessori School last fall.

JAMSHED KHODADAD FOZDAR (B.S. 1948 EECS)

celebrated his 60th wedding anniversary in South Africa. He was involved in the design of 150-megahertz amplifiers for detecting stellar radio static and worked part-time in electron microscopy. He writes, “Nowadays my wife, Parvati, and I travel a fair bit. We know many of the chiefs of states and are occasionally received by them.”

JAMSHED K. FOZDAR (B.S. 1948 EECS)

was involved in work on radio astronomy and electron microscopy at the U.S. National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C. At age 22, he received a letter from Albert Einstein commending his paper on the fourth dimension. He is now a telecommunications consultant and a member of the Professional Engineers Board of Singapore. He was honorary secretary of the Inter-Religious Organization of Singapore from 1996 to 1999 and has written three books on comparative religion, including The God of Buddha.

JOHANN B. FREYMODSSON (B.S. 1944 EECS)

of Santa Barbara, California, is the former president of Freymodsson Associates. He writes, "I'm retired and pursuing interests in physics and mathematics."

Charles Faulders (B.S. 1948 ME)

of Camarillo , California , retired in 1990 from North American Aviation, Inc. He writes, "I'm enjoying retirement and am an avid reader of newspapers and books. During a recent trip to Oakland to see our son Thom, we drove by Hesse Hall. It's still there, by gosh! Brought back memories!"

William (Bill) Felzer (B.S. 1940 ME)

died January30, 2003, at age 86. He was an esteemed faculty emeritus at CityCollege of San Francisco, where he taught many courses andestablished the Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, and a mechanicalengineer for the U.S. Navy. He retired in the 1970s but continuedto teach part time and do volunteer work, most recently as alibrary volunteer and tutor. He is survived by his wife Ester, hisson Alan, daughter-in-law Laura, granddaughter Karen, and severalbrothers and sisters. Donations may be made in his name to anyhospice.

John Fiske (B.S. 1941 EE)

died March 31, 2004.

Guy Fluck (B.S. 1949 CE)

of Hemet , California , hasadvanced Alzheimer's. He worked as a design engineer on the spaceprogram at Boeing and is proud to be a Berkeley graduate.

Richard Foy (B.S. 1942 EE)

of Redondo Beach, California, has been taking yoga classes since 1995. It has been a great help in keeping in shape. He has been participating in Omnilore, a senior study discussion organization, for about eight years. It has been a great help in keeping his mind in shape. He has been traveling internationally since 1974 with his first trip, not counting those south of the border, to Hong Kong, which has helped to keep his interests broad and joyful.

Richard J. Frankel (M.S. 1944 CE, Ph.D. 1965 CE)

was contracted by the Danish International Development Agency to serve as industrial environment advisor to the Ministry of Industry & Handicrafts, Vientiane, government of Lao People's Democratic Republic, known in the United States as Laos. As part of the three-year assignment ending in 2003, he is training government officers to sample and monitor the industrial and ambient environment, carry out industrial audits and cleaner production assessments to improve understanding and appreciation for industrial environmental management.

ALFRED S. GRUNDY (B.S. 1943 ME)

died in Houston, Texas, last September at age 93. Born in San Bruno, California, he worked for Shell Oil for 37 years and Fluor Corporation before retiring to Nassau Bay, Texas. During World War II he designed a valve for a backpack-mounted flamethrower for the U.S. Army. He was a lifelong Eagle Scout and served as a mentor and tutor to at-risk youth.

Bradley Garretson (B.S. 1941 CE)

a registered architect and licensed civil, structural, and mechanical engineer, died in April 2004. He was co-founder in 1956 of Garretson and Elmendorf Consulting Engineers of San Francisco, which was responsible for buildings at Lawrence Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore, and Sandia Labs. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was later promoted to captain in the army reserves. He served as president of the UC Berkeley Engineering Alumni Society in 1982–83.

Kong Go (B.S. 1947 CE)

of Albany is retired and active at Berkeley Chinese Baptist Church. He writes, "My dear wife Kit Fay Go passed on in 2002."

Werner Goldsmith (Ph.D. 1949 ME)

an internationally recognized authority in the mechanics of collision, died in Oakland August 23 at age 79. A native of Germany, Goldsmith was best known for his 1960 textbook Impact. He was professor of mechanical engineering at Berkeley and a frequent consultant and expert witness on the mechanics of collision. He is survived by his wife Penelope, daughters Andrea and Remy Margarethe, son Stephen, and four grandchildren. Donations in his memory may be made to the Berkeley Engineering Annual Fund or the Bay Area Holocaust Oral History Project, P.O. Box 1597, Burlingame, CA 94011-1597.

John S. Good (B.S. 1948 IE)

is a property management and construction industry consultant in Alamo, Calif.

Russell Green (B.S. 1947 EE)

of Walnut Creek is retired from his career as a control systems engineer.

Carl Grondorf (B.S. 1943 EE)

a Berkeley native, lives in Grand Junction, Colorado, with his wife of 54 years, Edith Katherine Drake. He served with the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II, where he received special training to maintain operation of long-distance telephone service to headquarters. In addition to professional positions with UC Berkeley, the U.S. Postal Service, and a manufacturing firm in Colorado, he has worked with Habitat for Humanity and served in various capacities for the Presbyterian Church throughout the U.S., most recently as pastoral adviser to the National Committee of Presbyterian Men.

J. Putnam Henck (B.S. 1940 CE)

of Sky Forest , California , is now retired from a general engineering and building contracting career.

Charles E. Hepner (B.S. 1948 ME)

retired from a patent law practice in Sharon, Conn., and is setting up a woodworking shop. He writes, "At the rate I'm going, I may never make anything, but I will leave a really nice shop."

H.P. Hernandez (B.S. 1943 ME)

is a volunteer with the Crissy Field Aviation Museum Association, which is rebuilding a World War I DeHavilland DH-4 biplane. He lives in San Francisco.

Saburo Hori (B.S. 1940, M.S. 1942 ME)

of Glendora, California, is enjoying retirement in Southern California after 45 years in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with Checker Motors Corporation.

MYRON H. JACOBS (B.S. 1944 EECS)

of Sacramento switched to civil engineering after discharge from the U.S. Navy and spent the next 41 years as a bridge construction engineer. He retired in 1988.

MYRON JACOBS (B.S. 1944 EECS)

retired after 41 years as a bridge construction engineer with Caltrans. He lives in Sacramento.

EDWIN D. JONES (B.S. 1949 Eng Sci)

lives in Pacifica, California, and is the CEO of web security company TESCO, Consulting Engineers.

FRED W. “WESTON” STARRATT JR. (B.S. 1949 Metallurgy)

of San Rafael, California, writes for several maritime magazines.

EDWARD M. “MO” BENSON JR. (B.S. 1944 Metallurgy)

died in January at his home in Sunset Beach, California. He was 89. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II and retired in 1985, after 38 years with Atlantic Richfield Company. He was also director of UC Berkeley's Engineering Advisory Board.

Fred Jackson (B.S. 1944 CE)

of Fair Oaks, California, spent 40 years working for the California Department of Transportation in freeway location and design. Now in retirement, he has helped convert a barn into Sierra Christian Church and enjoys salmon and halibut fishing in British Columbia , gardening, and turning wood bowls.

Leo Jensen (B.S. 1947 ME)

of Tarzana, California, was supervisor and program manager on component fabrication for space structures such as Galileo, ATS F&G spacecrafts, tracking and data relay satellite systems , and the Minuteman third stage missile system, and received patent #3,768,760 in 1973 on a commercial aircraft spoiler. He is now retired.

James McCarty Jr. (B.S. 1947 CE)

a longtime engineer for Oakland, died in January. He served on the 269th Engineers Combat Battalion during World War II, then returned to school and began working for the city in 1947. He engineered an extensive flood control project and many bridges, roads, and buildings that helped define the city of Oakland. In 1961, he became director of public works, where he presided over several large freeway projects and BART's Oakland portion.

Carleton Hardy Jr. (B.S. 1949 ME)

of Fremont retired from Ford Motor Co. in 1994 at age 70, then spent 10 years as an unpaid volunteer with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. He writes, "We have five married kids, 17 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Our eldest grandson is a sergeant with the 82nd Airborne in Iraq."

Charles "Cap" Kierulff (B.S. 1941 EE)

of Los Angeles is retired from his own company, Kierulff Electronics. He writes, "Barbara and I have celebrated our 63-year anniversary. Over the past 25 years I have collected vitals on 11,000 Kierulff relatives. In addition to EE, I enjoyed rowing on the Cal Crew from 1937 to 1941 with Gregory Peck and Dave De Varona!"

John (Jack) Kniveton (B.S. 1948 Petroleum Engineering)

of Napa, writes "I traveled on many Bear Treks, ranging from Antarctica to the Baltic. Every alumnus should continue to support the College of Engineering as well as the new athletics program."

Robert Kushnir (B.S. 1948 EE)

was assistant engineer on a B-24 at Iwo Jima during World War II. He retired in 1985 from Colorado Springs Iron & Metal and C.S. Auto Wrecking. He had a major stroke in 1988, quit playing tennis in 1998, and underwent cardiac surgery in 2002. His older son Steve and family live in Germany.

Ludy Langer (B.S. 1947 ME, B.A. 1948 Bus Ad)

is back to moving cars for Hertz at the Sacramento airport after 18 years of retirement.

Robert G. Lee (B.S. 1942, M.S. 1955 CE)

retired in November as chairman of the Residential Users Appeal Board of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission after 15 years of service.

Floyd Looschen (B.S. 1944 EE)

of Florence, Oregon, writes, "I'm a retired electrical/electronic engineer after being part of the blossoming electrical, electronic and digital age. And a wonderful journey it was. Thanks to UC for the education that made it possible."

JAMES M. MILLER (B.S. 1949 EECS)

of Lake Isabella, California, retired from McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft Company in 1982.

Robert Marks (B.S. 1947 CE)

of Los Angeles and his partner have sold their company, Architectural License Seminars, and Robert is easing into retirement.

HARLEY M. McCAMISH (B.A. 1948 ChemE)

of San Rafael writes, “I’m in a full-care retirement facility (a good one). Not up to much—I have most of the problems to be expected at my age.”

Robert A. Moeller (B.S. 1942 EE)

is back togardening at his home in Los Angeles after surviving a heart attackin June.

Eric Mohr (B.S. 1949 ME, M.S. 1970, Ph.D. 1977 CEE)

a member of Berkeley's first graduate class in highway and traffic engineering, died in January. A native of Germany, he came to California in 1939 and served in the U.S. Army Counterintelligence in Europe during and after World War II. He worked for Deleuw, Cather & Co. in Chicago and the California Public Utilities Commission in San Francisco before returning to Berkeley to do graduate study. He taught transportation and logistics at San Francisco State, San Jose State and Golden Gate University, serving as dean of the latter's School of Transportation and Logistics Management from 1984 to 1989.

Robert Morris (B.S. 1942 CE)

of Mill Valley retired last October after 50 years at Wildman & Morris, a San Francisco architectural and engineering company he started with Bob Wildman in 1953.

JAMES W. NEIGHBOURS (B.S. 1940 ME)

is a 90-year-old retiree who works full time as a caregiver for his wife who has late-stage Alzheimer's. "As we live in New Jersey, I miss being able to attend Cal functions," he writes, "but I enjoy reading about them."

DONALD R. NUSS (B.S. 1941 ME)

is a World War II veteran and lieutenant commander who has traveled the world and written three books. He's at work now on his fourth, The Last Stop, loosely based on his life in a retirement home in Aliso Viejo.

James W. Neighbours (B.S. 1940 ME)

is a retired aeronautical engineer and aviator in West Caldwell, N.J. He worked for the U.S. Navy 21 years, Grumman Corp. 10 years, and Eastern Airlines for 10 years. He is now a full-time caregiver for his wife with Alzheimer's.

James Neighbours (B.S. 1940 ME)

of West Caldwell, New Jersey, writes, “I am now retired from 21 years of active duty as an aviator in the U.S. Navy and as president at Agawam Aircraft Products in Sag Harbor, New York. Unfortunately, my wife passed away in July.”

ROBERT A. DAL PORTO (B.S. 1949 IEOR)

partially retired in 2000. He's a lifelong cattle rancher in east Contra Costa County and spent 19 years, between 1981 and 2000, as a consultant for Chevron Shale Oil Co. in Grand Junction, Colorado. He's also a former land leveler and earth-moving contractor, as well as a farmer and land manager.

Jack E. Peebles (B.S. 1943 EECS)

of Roanoke, Virginia, retired from General Electric.

Richard Plum (B.S. 1949 Eng. Physics)

of Seatac, Washington, died in March.

Robert Dal Porto (B.S. 1949 IEOR)

of Discovery Bay , California , retired in 1999 from his own company, Dal Porto Enterprises. Previously, he worked for 19 years as an agricultural consultant for Chevron Shale Oil Company on an oil shale project in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Frank Poulsen (B.S. 1940 CE)

died in 2002 in Brentwood, Tennessee. He had retired in 1989 after a successful 35-year career in utilities in Santa Rosa.

Henry Preusser (B.S. 1940 ME)

retired as president of Panel Tech Inc., consultants and designers of panel finishing systems. He lives in Rio Verde, Ariz.

George Quinn (B.S. 1947 ME)

spends his time working on home improvement projects, travel, and enjoying his four grandchildren. He writes, "Last July I celebrated my fiftieth wedding anniversary with my wife Mary and our family and friends at our home in Portola Valley ."

HENRY A. RIGALI (B.S. 1944 ME)

of Seaford, New York, writes, "Like many classmates in uniform, we had our military orders in hand and left before the graduation ceremony."

Louis Rahlves (B.S. 1947 CE)

died March 5, 2002.

Henry A. Rigali (B.S. 1944 ME)

of Seaford, N.Y., is happily retired from the Nassau County Bridge Authority. His grandson, Ben, is a second-year engineering student at Virginia Tech.

Louis Riggs (B.S. 1948 CE)

died June 12, 2002, in Lafayette, CA. As president of Tudor Engineering, he helped design BART tracks and bridges and worked on transit systems in Atlanta, Venezuela, and Portugal. He is survived by his wife Patricia, two children, and four grandchildren.

RUTH DUNBAR SALIN (B.S. 1942 ME)

lives in Avila Beach, California, and is a retired Kaiser engineer. "Still alive!" she writes.

EDWARD C. SAUNDERS (B.S. 1948 ME)

of Newport Beach, California, writes, "I'm living at the beach and happily retired after many years of owning and running my own company, which manufactured items for telephone companies."

ROBERT L. SISLER (B.S. 1940 ME)

of San Anselmo, California, writes, "I just reached the age of 90!" He's retired from Pacific Gas & Electric.

Alan Samuel (B.S. 1943 ME)

is enjoying retirement and living in San Jose.

William H. Silcox (B.S. 1947 ME)

of Incline, Village, Nev., writes, "Went up to the top of Mt. Whitney -- 14,497 feet -- and back at age 80. Can't go any higher in the contiguous United States." His first time up the mountain was in 1940. He returned in 1990, and again in 2002.

Loyd C. Sindel (B.S. 1947 ME)

of Discovery Bay, Calif., closed his engineering office in June after 32 years. He writes, "At 80 years of age, I guess it's time."

Philip Skarin (B.S. 1946 CE)

of Sherman Oaks, California, is serving his 11th year as publicity chair of the Retired Los Angeles City Employees Association. He has also retired after six years as a World Masters weightlifting champion.

Robert Smits (B.S. 1948 EECS)

of Lafayette, California, is retired from Lawrence Berkeley Lab and has taken up astronomy. He joined the Mount Diablo Observatory Association, which recently established an observatory on Mount Diablo.

Linn Spaulding (B.S. 1948 CEE)

is retired and living with his wife Ida in Eugene, Oregon.

THURLE B. “TEEB” THOMAS (B.S. 1949 IEOR)

writes, “I am enjoying my sixteenth year of retirement and 59 years in Orinda. Nothing could be better!”

JOHN R. VIDMAR (B.S. 1943 ME)

of Los Angeles retired as vice president of BorgWarner. He has six children, 24 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren.

John Vidmar (B.S. 1943 ME)

of Los Angeles is retired and as busy as ever, traveling, reading, collecting, and investing.

Shreekishna Vinze (M.S. 1947 EE)

of Poona City, India, was head of the Specialist Engineering Organization of the government of India. He handled design testing, and trouble-shooting of about 44 hydro power stations from 1948 to 1968. He then became director of the Central Power Research Institute of India and then was a power division manager of the Asian Development Bank until his retirement in 1984.

Richard H. Ward (B.S. 1949 CE)

retired in 1979 after a long career in municipal administration. He was public works director for the cities of Turlock, Redding, and San Leandro, Calif. He now lives in Walnut Creek, Calif.

Gay Weber (B.S. 1947 EECS)

of Fort Wayne, Indiana, died last October at age 82. He designed jet engines for General Electric for 40 years in Pennsylvania and Ohio. While at Cal he was on the gymnastics and diving teams and was president of Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

Robert Weyand (B.S. 1941 Metallurgy)

of Prescott , Arizona , is retired and enjoying life, using his computer to keep in touch with friends.

Thomas J. Whitlow (B.S. 1940 ME)

of Long Beach, Calif., writes, "I just returned from a trip to Pensacola, Fla., to tour the National Museum of Naval Aviation. What a glorious sight it was! They have practically every aircraft that Naval aviators have flown. I've flown about 20 of them."

Ralph Wilcox (B.S. 1943 ME)

of Pollock Pines, California , is retired from Chevron Research and the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps at Cal in 1941

Alexander Murray "Bud" Wilson (B.S. 1948 Metallurgy)

of Los Altos Hills, CA, was inducted into the National Mining Hall of Fame Sept. 7 at a ceremony in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was the Hall of Fame's 15th national induction banquet.

Alfred Windsor (B.S. 1949 EE)

of Berkeley retired from Lawrence Livermore National Lab in 1982 after 31 years. He has two children and one grandchild. His wife, Ruth Thomann Windsor, passed away in 1998.

C. Norman Winningstad (B.S. 1948 EE)

of Newport, Ore., writes, "Strangely enough, this 'tech-weenie' is now the treasurer of Black Light Power,

Bruce Woolpert (B.S. 1942 CE)

died at age 84 this past January. Born in Delia, Kansas, he also earned degrees in soils mechanics from Harvard and in civil engineering from Stanford, where he met his wife Betsy. As an engineer at Graniterock in Watsonville, he supervised the building of the BART rail line and other Bay Area projects. He was a passionate traveler, operagoer, and swing dancer, and known for mentoring young people and his involvement in the community and world around him.

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