In Memoriam

It is with immense sadness and shock that we share the passing of Adriana Romero-Olivares on April 28, 2026. Adriana was a brand-new Assistant Professor in the Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology at UC Riverside. Adriana joined UC Riverside on January 1, 2026, and was just beginning her research and teaching here. Although...

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dr. Jodie Holt, Professor Emerita and former Chair of the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, former Divisional Dean of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS), and Director of the UC Riverside Botanic Gardens, who passed away in the early morning of...

Lawrence H. "Larry" Harper, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, passed away in October 2023. Professor Harper was a great contributor to mathematics, and influential colleges, and a friend to many. Born August 27, 1938, Professor Harper received his Bachelor's Degree in Physics at UC Berkeley in 1961, followed by his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University...

Richard Dean “Dick” Goeden, Professor Emeritus of Entomology, passed away on August 17, 2023. Goeden was born in Neillsville, Wisconsin on May 20, 1935, to Aleda and InJerome Goeden. He grew up in Wisconsin, but little is known about his childhood; he did at times recall that he played cards after school with his buddies...

Professor of Physics Stephen Wimpenny passed away on November 21, 2022. He joined the University of California, Riverside in 1987. He was an influential leader in experimental high energy physics and played a leading role in the discovery of the top quark in 1995 by the DZero and CDF Collaborations and studies of its properties...

UC ANR - UC Davis faculty and friends are remembering internationally recognized medical entomologist Mir Mulla, a UC Riverside distinguished emeritus professor of entomology whose university career spanned 50 years of teaching, research and public service. He died Jan. 29 at his home in Riverside at age 97. Robert Washino, emeritus professor of entomology, emeritus...

The first director of the University of California, Riverside Botanic Gardens, Frank C. Vasek, passed away in Davis, California on January 11, 2022, at the age of 94. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Maxine, daughters Cheri Vasek and Cindy Engel, son-in-law Tom Engel, and grandchildren Clara and Katie Engel. Frank was...

Marilyn Fogel, endowed geoecology professor at UC Riverside, died on May 11 at her home in Mariposa, Calif. She was 69. She pioneered the use of different forms of the same chemical element, called isotopes, to understand the life history of organisms, both modern and ancient. In so doing, she helped develop biogeochemistry as a...

Donate to the Kuwana-Sawyer Undergraduate Award in Analytical Chemistry Dr. Ted Kuwana, 90, of Seattle, WA, died at University of Washington Northwest Hospital after several weeks of pneumonia. He was the founding father of a new field in chemistry called spectroelectrochemistry, which was created by combining two well-known analytical techniques of electrochemistry and spectroscopy. He...

Reinhold Mankau passed away on Sunday, December 5, 2021, in Riverside, California. Known by his family, friends, and colleagues as Ron, he was a faculty member at the University of California, Riverside for 33 years. He belonged to the first generation of scientists that gave the UCR Department of Nematology its stellar worldwide reputation. Ron...

Dr. Shawn Biehler was a beloved educator and researcher at UC Riverside. Shawn was born in New Jersey in 1937. He earned his B.S. in Geological Engineering at Princeton University in 1958, following up at the California Institute of Technology with an M.S. in 1961 and a Ph.D. in 1964. After ten years as a...

William T. Frankenberger, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry, passed away suddenly on August 14, 2021 at the age of 69. He retired from UC Riverside in April 2011 after 30 years of distinguished service in the Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences. After graduating high school in Kansas, he received a track...

The field of statistics has lost one of its greats in the area of Bayesian multivariate analysis and a cofounder of the section on Bayesian Statistical Science, S. James (Jim) Press. Jim’s fundamental research contributions were in the areas of multivariate analysis, Bayesian analysis, cognitive aspects of survey methodology, and their applications across a range...

Seymour Dean VanGundy passed away peacefully at home on December 27, 2020. He was born on February 24, 1931, in Toledo, Ohio. Known to family, friends, and colleagues as ‘Van’, he graduated from Monclova High School, Monclova, Ohio, in 1949. Van entered Bowling Green State University on an Edwin Mosley Scholarship and graduated with a...

In Memoriam Theodore Joseph Barth, Jr. Professor Emeritus of Mathematics (May 30, 1939 - March 17, 2020) Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, Theodore Joseph Barth, Jr., passed away on March 17, 2020. He was 80 years old. Born on May 30, 1939 in Chicago, Illinois, Ted was the oldest child of Theodore J. Barth, Sr. and...

In Memoriam William E. Walton Professor of Entomology (September 1, 1956 - October 18, 2020) The Department of Entomology, the University of California, and the field of vector ecology have lost one of their most dedicated, productive, and beloved scientists. Dr. William E. (Bill) Walton, Professor of Entomology, passed away at the UC Irvine Medical...

In Memoriam Robert F. Luck Professor of Entomology, Emeritus (May 29, 1941- September 6, 2020) Robert F. Luck, Professor of Entomology, Emeritus, University of California, Riverside, internationally known for his research on biological control of citrus pests and the basic science underpinning biological control, passed away on September 6, 2020, in Santa Rosa, California. His...

In Memoriam Daniel R. Gallie Professor of Biochemistry (1957 - 2020) Daniel Ross Gallie was born June 8, 1957, in Dearborn, Michigan and passed away on September 13, 2020 at the age of 63 after a five year struggle with cancer. He earned his B.S. in Chemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University...

In Memoriam Travis Bean Asst. Cooperative Extension Specialist in Weed Science, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences (1977 - 2020) Travis Bean, University of California, Riverside Assistant Cooperative Extension Specialist in Weed Science in the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, passed away on May 27, 2020. Travis joined the UCR Department of Botany and...

In Memoriam Ann Kernan UCR Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Physics (1933 - 2020) Distinguished Professor of Physics Emeritus Anne Kernan passed away on May 11, 2020. She joined the University of California, Riverside in 1967 and retired in 1994 after 27 years of service. She was influential in founding and building the experimental high energy...