In Memory of...
Obituary: Warren Giedt
Warren H. Giedt, professor emeritus and founding chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering at the University of California, Davis, died March 23 at his home in San Jose. He was 86.
John S. De Groot, Plasma Physicist
John S. De Groot, Professor Emeritus of Applied Science at the University of California, Davis, died of liver cancer on Jan. 16 at Sutter Davis Hospital. He was 72.
Born in 1934, De Groot received his bachelor's degree in physics in 1959, his master's degree in 1964 and his doctorate in 1967, all from UCLA. He taught briefly at UCLA before joining UC Davis as an assistant professor in the Department of Applied Science in 1969.
He formally retired in 1994, but was recalled in 1999, serving as vice-chair of the Department of Applied Science from 1999 to 2001. During this time, De Groot worked to establish the undergraduate program in optics, which began accepting students in 2000, and the major in computational engineering science, which opened in 2002.
After returning to emeritus status in 2002, De Groot continued part-time research aimed at harnessing the vast power of thermonuclear fusion, the process that powers the sun and other stars, for power generation. He carried out research at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, N.M., and collaborated with other fusion researchers in the U.S. and around the world.
De Groot's wife, Nancy, died in 2006. De Groot is survived by his daughter Rachael Gavoni and her husband, James Gavoni, of Sacramento; his son Anthony De Groot and Anthony's wife Wendy De Groot, of Castro Valley, two grandchildren, Stephanie De Groot and Michael De Groot; and his sister, Joan Weltmann of Bend, Oregon.
A campus memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 17 from 2 p.m. - 6 p.m., in the Alpha Gamma Rho Room of the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center on the UC Davis campus. The College of Engineering community is invited to attend
Obituary: Robert Fridley
Robert Fridley, professor emeritus of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at UC Davis and an expert on mechanized fruit harvesting and fish farming, died March 19. He was 71.
Obituary: Harry Brandt
Harry Brandt, professor emeritus of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, died Jan. 28. He was 80.
Obituary: S. Louis Hakimi
S. Louis Hakimi, professor emeritus and chair of the Department of Electrical and Engineering at UC Davis from 1986 to 1996, died June 23 following a long illness. He was 73.
Hakimi received his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois-Urbana in 1955, 1957 and 1959, respectively. He began his academic career at the University of Illinois, then moved to Northwestern University in 1961, where he remained until 1986 when he joined UC Davis. He retired in 2001.
Hakimi was an internationally recognized expert in graph theory, which uses mathematics to understand electronic circuits and networks. His work is now widely used in designing microchips, said Charles Hunt, professor of electrical and computer engineering.
The department saw considerable changes during his tenure as chair, including the departure of some faculty to form the new Department of Computer Science and the move into the Engineering II building, now Kemper Hall. Hakimi was a "driving force" behind the new building, Hunt said.
Hunt said that Hakimi worked hard to raise the profile of the department, seeking to recruit the best faculty and students. A mark of his success is the very high demand for its programs: in the past year, over 1,000 applications were received for 60 places in the graduate program.
He is survived by his wife, Mary; three children, Alan, Carol and Diane; and two grandchildren, Jackson and Lilian. Donations in memoriam may be made to cancer research.