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January 2007 Vol. 77,
no. 1S
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| BART
NAGEL PHOTO
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Richard Newton, in our own words
Students, faculty and staff share their remembrances
“I will never forget the first time I met Richard.
I was very impressed by his kindness and knowledge. He strongly suggested
pursuing a Ph.D., and later became my research advisor in EECS. I could
regularly drop by his office and talk about my research progress, despite
his tight schedule. I felt so lucky. He always welcomed me warmly,
saying, ‘NiHao’ [‘hello’ in Chinese]. It is
he who taught me how to turn general research proposals into good scientific
research with potential applications and impacts for industry. I thank him for being such a kind, considerate and loving advisor and friend. He will always have a special place
in my heart and memory.”
—
Zile Wei, EECS Ph.D. student
“As for many people, Rich Newton was a personal inspiration to
me in terms of vision and creativity. It is an honor for me to carry
on his work in the CITRIS building and make it everything
he wanted it to be.”
—Paul Wright, ME professor and CITRIS chief scientist
“Dean Newton had a longstanding commitment to excellence and inclusion
for engineering scholars from all backgrounds. He was engaged and accessible:
Making time to
phone prospective freshmen and graduate students, eating dinner in the dormitories
with incoming freshmen and injecting his formidable energy wherever and whenever
he could. A proud father, he frequently spoke about his daughters when advocating
for increasing the representation of women in engineering.”
—Michele de Coteau, Ph.D., assistant dean for special programs
“I first met Rich Newton in 1986, when I joined the EECS department as
administrative assistant. He was the one, in fact, who taught me how to use a
spreadsheet as
part of my work for the Computer Systems Support Group. When he left, we on the
staff gave him a specially made ceramic pencil holder. That was almost 20 years
ago, but the last time I was in his office, I noticed that he had it right there
on his table. That meant a lot to me, and it also tells better than words possibly
could what type of person Rich was. I can honestly say that every time I open
up Excel, or work on any number of other projects connected with managing Rich’s
home department, I think of him. And I always will.”
—Kate Riley, EECS director of administrative services
“Rich dedicated his life to solving the problems of society. He was especially
concerned about people who are less fortunate. His passion and enthusiasm inspired
me to focus my research on applying technology to solving problems and improving
the quality of life in poor countries. I will also never forget that, despite
having one of the most demanding jobs, he always made students his priority.
He would meet with his students more often than most advisors, to the point that
we were the
envy of our fellow graduate students. Nothing gave him more pleasure than chatting
with us and discussing new innovative ideas that would have great impact on the
lives of others in the future. Very few people changed my life the way Rich did.
He will be greatly missed, but his impact will continue to be felt for many generations
to come.”
—Omar Bakr, EECS Ph.D. student
Share your own remembrances of Dean Newton for posting
to our website at www.coe.berkeley.edu/newsroom/newton. |
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