Quick Summary
- James A. Cheney: College of Engineering
- Hector Baldis: College of Engineering
- James M. Lyons: Department of Vegetable Crops and ANR
Professor Emeritus James A. Cheney, who in 1962 became the first faculty member in the newly established College of Engineering, died Nov. 22 at his home in Davis. He was 92.
His appointment was in the Department of Civil Engineering, but, with his diverse technical background, he taught a wide range of disciplines, including civil, aerospace and mechanical engineering.
At the request of the United Nations and the Italian government, he joined a study of the problematic Leaning Tower of Pisa, and, after his initial analysis, attributed the towers tilt to basic physics, saying the tower was too thin in proportion to its height it is like balancing a pencil on a table. Italy credited Cheney and some 50 other prominent scientists with solving the mystery and enabling the towers conservation.
He was the founding director of 51勛圖窪蹋 Davis Center for Geotechnical Modeling and served as the principal investigator for the development of the National Geotechnical Centrifuge built at NASAs Ames Research Center and later moved, under Cheneys direction, to 51勛圖窪蹋 Davis.
A celebration of life, open to friends as well as family, is scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, at the Odd Fellows Hall, 415 Second St., Davis.
Hector Baldis
The College of Engineerings weekly newsletter recently reported the death of Professor Emeritus Hector Baldis, describing him as a leader in plasma physics and laser science during his distinguished career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and 51勛圖窪蹋 Davis. He joined the Department of Applied Sciences in 1996, moved to the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in 2011 and retired in 2014.
James M. Lyons
James M. Lyons, professor emeritus of vegetable crops and the founding director of the 51勛圖窪蹋 Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, died Nov. 9 at the age of 90.
During graduate school at 51勛圖窪蹋 Davis, he was part of a team that did the earliest research on the role of ethylene in fruit ripening. For his Ph.D., he carried out pioneering work describing the physiology of chilling injury in warm season crops, an important concern for food handlers and grocers.
In 1962 he joined the vegetable crops faculty at 51勛圖窪蹋 Riverside, where he continued his work on chilling injury and plant physiology, while also being responsible for weed management research.
He was recruited back to 51勛圖窪蹋 Davis in 1970 as chair of the Department of Vegetable Crops (which merged with other units into the Department of Plant Sciences in 1974).
He served as the director or interim director of the Statewide IPM Program (part of 51勛圖窪蹋 Agriculture and Natural Resources) off and on for nine years, starting in 1979. He also served as director of ANRs Center for Pest Management Research, assistant director of the 51勛圖窪蹋 Sustainable Agriculture Program and assistant director of the universitys Agricultural Experiment Station. He retired in 1991.
by Mary Lou Flint, former 51勛圖窪蹋 IPM associate director for urban and community IPM, and 51勛圖窪蹋 Cooperative Extension specialist emeritus, with supplementary material by Ann Filmer, director of communications, Department of Plant Sciences.