EDWARD M.“MO” BENSON JR. (B.S.’44 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. 

TOR L. BREKKE, professor emeritus of geological engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and scholar in tunneling, died in March at his home in Berkeley. He was 75. The Norwegian scientist authored more than 85 publications and consulted on power plants, dams, highways, railroads and mines around the world. His achievements include serving as chair of the U.S. National Committee on Tunneling Technology, member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and honorary fellow of the Geological Society of America.

ALFRED S. GRUNDY (B.S.’43 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.

Professor emeritus of aeronautical sciences in mechanical engineering MAURICE HOLT died last November in Berkeley. He was 90. Born in Wildboarclough, Cheshire, England, Holt was a renowned scholar and educator in fluid dynamics and served as consultant to NASA and the Office of Naval Research. He cofounded the International Conference on Numerical Methods in Fluid Dynamics. An avid traveler, he toured Europe and Russia with his family in a Volkswagen camper.

JENGYEE LIANG (B.S.’05 IEOR) died at age 25 last November of complications from lupus. An honor student, she still found time for numerous extracurricular activities, including serving as senator in the Associated Students of the University of California, president of the Institute of Industrial Engineers student chapter and a children’s swimming teacher through the Special Needs Aquatic Program. She won the prestigious Bechtel Engineering Scholarship and an Alpha Pi Mu National Award of Excellence. She enjoyed writing, traveling, reading, music and dancing.

FREDERICK SHERMAN (M.S.’50, Ph.D.’54 ME), professor emeritus of mechanical engineering and an expert on the dynamics of high-speed airflow in the upper atmosphere, died last October at age 80. His work in the 1950s and 1960s influenced the fledgling U.S. space program and supersonic flight. He published the textbook Viscous Flow, and his many honors included a UC Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award in 1961. In retirement, Sherman devoted time to folk dancing and family genealogy.

JAMES LOUIS VAN VORHIS (B.S.’52 EECS) died in Monterey, California, last September. He was 81. Born in Berkeley and raised in Lomita, California, he briefly attended UCLA at age 16 and worked on Cannery Row for his father, who was assistant superintendent for Sea Pride Packing Co., for 86 cents an hour. He served in the U.S. Army at Camps Beale and Stoneman in California and enjoyed a 35-year career at Bourns, Inc., before retiring to the Monterey County ranch he helped build as a youngster.

JOHN ROY WHINNERY (B.S.’37, Ph.D.’48 EECS), professor emeritus and innovator in electromagnetism and communication electronics, died last February at his home in Walnut Creek, California. He was 92. In 1944, he co-authored the pioneering text Fields and Waves in Modern Radio, still used today. He served as director of the Electronics Research Laboratory as well as UC Berkeley chair of electrical engineering and dean of engineering. He was named University Professor, earned the National Medal of Science and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.