2024: Stanford remembers

Members of the Stanford community remember those who have passed away in 2024.

September

Robert Chase, MD, former chair of surgery and anatomy at Stanford Medicine, who repaired injured and diseased hands, curated anatomy image collections, and led the National Board of Medical Examiners, died Sept. 9.

August

Robin Rider, BS ’72, who following appointments at UC Berkeley and Stanford joined the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1996 as curator of special collections, died Aug. 25.

Alvin Attles Jr., legendary Golden State Warriors player and coach, a lecturer in sports law at Stanford Law School for two decades, died Aug. 20 in Oakland.

Judith Dean, who had an accomplished career at the university as assistant controller, died Aug. 17.

George Stephen Springer, the Paul Pigott Professor of Engineering, Emeritus, and professor of aeronautics and astronautics, a renowned expert in the field of composite materials, died Aug. 15.

Laszlo Horvath, retired research librarian, who worked in technical services at the Hoover Institution Library from 1972 to 1998, died Aug. 13 in Pacific Grove.

Robert Roy Maxfield, MS ’66, PhD ’69, the M in ROLM Corporation and a consulting professor of management science and engineering from 1991 to 2007, died Aug. 13 in Austin, Texas.

Peter Sturrock, professor emeritus of applied physics, known for his contributions to the fields of astrophysics, plasma physics, and solar research, and his interest in unconventional scientific topics, including unidentified aerial phenomena, died Aug. 12 in Palo Alto.

Helen Brooks, PhD ’80, senior lecturer emerita in the Department of English and winner of the Dinkelspiel Award in 1994 for outstanding service to undergraduate education, who over 30 years taught mostly in the Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities program, died Aug. 9 in Davis, California.

James D. “BJ” Bjorken, PhD ’59, professor emeritus at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University, whose work played a crucial role in discovering quarks, died Aug. 6 in Redwood City.

Frances Krauskopf Conley, AB ’62, MD ’66, MS ’86, professor emerita of neurosurgery, a leader for the advancement of women in medicine, died Aug. 5.

Charles C. Milford, librarian at Stanford’s Food Research Institute from 1964 to 1991, died Aug. 4.

July

Rod Ewing, MS ’72, PhD ’74, the Frank Stanton Professor in Nuclear Security and a professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, died July 13.

Janet Wyer, founder of the Stanford Travel Program serving faculty, staff, students, postdoctoral scholars, and visitors, died July 5.

June

Halsted Holman, MD, professor emeritus of immunology and rheumatology, who staffed Stanford Medicine’s newly opened Palo Alto campus in the 1960s and whose research unearthed critical knowledge about autoimmunity, died June 22 at Stanford.

Dikran Horoupian, MD, director of neuropathology at Stanford Medicine for nearly two decades, who focused on degenerative and neoplastic disease, died June 21 in Woodside.

Amos M. Nur, the Wayne Loel Professor of Earth Sciences, Emeritus, one of the world’s foremost experts in geology and geophysics, died June 10 at Stanford.

Susan Anderes, who in her 25-year career at Stanford made significant contributions as a librarian and web developer, died June 6 in Mountain View.

May

H. Bruce Franklin, PhD ’61, a professor of English whose dismissal from Stanford over his opposition to the Vietnam War set off a national debate about academic freedom, died May 19 in El Cerrito.

Wu Liu, PhD, associate professor of radiation oncology at Stanford Medicine who developed imaging techniques and radiation treatments for cancer, died May 14.

Alice Rayner, professor emerita of critical theory and dramatic literature, a prolific scholar who was beloved by students for her humor and intelligence, died May 11 in Kenwood, California.

Robert Moffat, PhD ’67, professor emeritus of mechanical engineering whose research on heat transfer led to improved methods for cooling electronic components and gas turbine engines, died May 10 in Los Altos.

Roger Corman, BS ’47, producer or director of hundreds of horror, science fiction, and crime films, died May 9 in Santa Monica, California.

April

Donald E. Petersen, MBA ’49, former Ford Motor Co. CEO who spent 41 years with the automaker, died April 24 in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Janice “Wes” Brown, MD, a professor of blood and marrow transplantation who innovated stem-cell therapies for immunocompromised patients and helped put them into clinical use, died April 14.

A.C. Matin, PhD, professor emeritus of microbiology and immunology at Stanford Medicine, who in nearly 50 years on the faculty studied a wide range of topics, died April 14.

Richard Christensen, a research professor emeritus of aeronautics and astronautics and of mechanical engineering, and a noted expert in the field of the mechanics of materials, died April 12 in Walnut Creek.

James Sutter Kason, MFA ’70, artist, musician, singer, actor, composer, and teacher, died April 12.

Lubert Stryer, MD, professor emeritus of structural biology and of neurobiology at Stanford Medicine, known for his fundamental discoveries in fluorescence spectroscopy, died April 8 at Stanford.

March

Elizabeth “Betsy” Mellins, MD, professor of pediatrics at the School of Medicine who studied autoimmune disease, died March 24.

Marjorie Perloff, the Sadie Dernham Patek Professor in Humanities, Emerita, a leading scholar of contemporary poetry and champion of experimental poetry, died March 24 in Los Angeles.

Amy Jordana Ettinger, a Bay Area author and Stanford Continuing Studies writing instructor, died March 20 in Santa Cruz.

Charles “Chuck” Kwok Fai Chan, PhD, assistant professor of surgery at Stanford Medicine and stem cell researcher, died March 12 at Stanford.

George Mitchel “Bud” Homsy, professor emeritus of chemical engineering who performed pioneering research in fluid mechanics and transport phenomena, died March 12.

George Hahn, PhD, professor emeritus of radiation oncology at Stanford Medicine who pioneered the use of heat to help treat cancer, died March 10 in Carmel Highlands, California.

David Korn, MD, professor emeritus of pathology, former dean of the School of Medicine and a former vice president for medical affairs at the university, died March 10 in Boston.

Walter Harrison, professor emeritus of applied physics, researcher and author in solid state physics, the theory of metals, semiconductors, and electronic structure, died March 6 at Stanford.

John Giammalva, student services manager in the School of Humanities and Sciences’ Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages, who worked for 20 years supporting students at Stanford, died March 4.

February

Susan Martin, a faculty affairs associate in the School of Humanities and Sciences dean’s office who worked at Stanford for almost 20 years, died Feb. 29.

Sarah Muller, visiting doctoral student researcher in the Department of Classics and a fellow at the France-Stanford Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, died Feb. 19 in Palo Alto.

Clayton W. Bates Jr., professor emeritus of materials science and engineering and of electrical engineering, an expert in photosensitive materials who worked to promote equity in STEM education, died Feb. 18 in Palo Alto.

Art Barnes, DMA ’65, professor emeritus of music and director of the Leland Stanford Jr. University Marching Band for 34 years, died Feb. 5.

Karen Weiss Mulder, BA ’94, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at the Hoover Institution, died Feb. 2 in Cooke County, Texas.

January

N. Scott Momaday, AM ’60, PhD ’63, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and member of the English faculty from 1972 to 1981, died Jan. 24 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Alistair Philip, MD, professor emeritus of pediatrics who made significant advances in understanding and treating infections in newborns, died Jan. 21.

Gordon Taylor, MD, adjunct clinical professor emeritus of anesthesiology, perioperative and pain medicine, died Jan. 14 in Wailuku, Hawaii.