N O T E S REMEMBERING Alan Pense ’59G ’62 Ph.D. Katherine (Meyer) Siegler Ph.D. ’86, Seminole, Fla., July 8, 2022. Dr. Siegler was a professor at St. Petersburg College. She also worked as a research scientist at the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System. Her research focused on the role of infammation in the development of bladder and prostate cancer. David A. Worley M.S. ’86, San Diego, Calif., Aug. 16, 2022. Mr. Worley retired fromBayer/ Berlex, where he worked for many years and was head of engineering and facilities. Karen S. Dewalt O’Meara M.S. ’87, Mission Viejo, Calif., May 14, 2022. Dr. O’Meara made a 30-year career in education, retiring as the assistant superintendent of Oley Valley School District. Craig B. Ziemer M.S. ’90, Wyomissing, Pa., June 5, 2022. Mr. Ziemer was employed for 35 years as an electrical engineer by Avago Technologies, where he earned 17 U.S. patents. He later worked as an engineering and automation technology instructor at Reading Muhlenberg Career & Technology Center. Jeanette M. Denton M.Ed. ’92, Whitehall, Pa., July 18, 2022. Mark W. Ranzan MBA ’93, Stroudsburg, Pa., May 6, 2022. Mr. Ranzan had a 32-year career as a commercial loan ofcer for several fnancial institutions. Maria (Mitchell) Burcham M.S. ’98, Mickleton, N.J., Aug. 6, 2022. Ms. Burchamwas a chemist for ExxonMobil. Her husband, Loyd Burcham ’78G, is a member of the Lehigh family. Anita D. (Silberman) Gopen M.Ed. ’03, Lower Macungie Township, Pa., April 30, 2022. Ms. Gopen worked as a librarian in the Western Salisbury School District for 10 years. Howard J. Aubrey M.Ed. ’14, Craig, Colo., July 10, 2022. Professor to Provost Alan Pense helped lead the creation of Lehigh’s ATLSS Former Lehigh Provost and Vice President of Academic Afairs Alan W. Pense ’59G ’62 Ph.D., a renowned fgure in the world of metallurgy research and a leading researcher in the welding, joining and failure analysis of large structures, passed away May 11, 2022. He was 88. Pense helped lead the creation of Lehigh’s Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems (ATLSS) Engineering Research Center, one of the most unique research and structural testing facilities in the world. For more than 40 years, he performed important forensic studies of damaged steel structures across the United States, including pioneering studies of fatigue-damaged bridges and other infrastructure in the 1970s and 1980s. “Al made many important contributions to the development of high-performance steels for bridges and military applications, and his research enabled the frst high-performance steel bridge in Pennsylvania to be constructed in 2000,” said ATLSS Director Richard Sause. “Al was instrumental in bringing the multi-million-dollar U.S. Navy feetof-the-future program to Lehigh in the 1990s, and he was widely known in the steel community for his work in creating and implementing a new generation of materials for large-scale steel structures.” Sause said Pense also had a remarkable wit. “Those of us who were at Lehigh when he was provost remember his infamous April Fool’s memos,” he said. “It was a wonderful experience, and a lot of fun, to have Al as a mentor and colleague. I learned so much from him, and simply remembering himmakes me smile.” A professor emeritus of materials science and engineering at Lehigh, Pense had a long and distinguished career at the university. After completing his Ph.D. in metallurgical engineering at Lehigh in 1962, he stayed on as a faculty member, starting as an assistant professor. He was promoted to associate professor in 1965 and professor in 1971. Pense became chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in 1977. He served as associate dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science from 1984 to 1988, then dean from 1988 to 1990. Pense was appointed Lehigh provost in 1990 and retired in 1998. “Al was one of the brightest, most personable and humorous individuals I have had the pleasure of working with,” said John N. DuPont ’94G ‘97 Ph.D., the R.D. Stout Distinguished Professor of materials science and engineering. “He had an uncanny ability to immediately see the ‘big picture,’ whether he was working on a complicated bridge failure or a difcult administrative issue.” ATLSS founding Director JohnW. Fisher, professor emeritus of civil engineering at Lehigh, worked with Pense on various bridge problems and other failures throughout their careers, one of the frst being the Yellow Mill Pond Bridge on I-95 in Connecticut. “Cracks had been observed at a coverplate end,” Fisher said, “and Al and I started a lifetime efort of examining cracking problems in bridges and other steel structures in the U.S.” Pense also enjoyed many trips to Europe, where he presented his research on welding materials for bridges. He also took part in a U.S. delegation to Russia during the Cold War. He was invited to be on the founding commission for the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and, from 1989 to 1994, served on its external engineering advisory committee. FA L L 2 0 2 2 | 7 9
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