Skip directly to: Main page content

UC Davis Magazine

Volume 24 · Number 4 · Summer 2007

In Memoriam

Warren Giedt

Warren Giedt

Warren Giedt began his UC Davis career in 1965 as a founding chair of the department of mechanical engineering, and continued to help build the department and other engineering programs the rest of his life. He died in March in San Jose at age 86, less than two weeks after attending a dedication ceremony for a new engineering teaching building opened with the help of a $2.5 million gift that he and his late wife, Leta, had contributed. After his retirement in 1983, the Giedts also created an endowed professorship fund in the Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, a first for the College of Engineering. Dr. Giedt was internationally known for his teaching and research in heat transfer and thermodynamics. He was long associated with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, maintaining an office there until his death. More . . .

Mannfred Hollinger, professor emeritus of medical pharmacology and toxicology, died in April at age 67. He wrote more than 100 scientific articles and, at the time of his death, was reviewing galley proofs of the third edition of his textbook, Introduction to Pharmacology. A faculty member during 1969–2001, he served as chair of the Department of Medical Pharmacology and Toxicology in the 1990s.

Edward Hurley, a founding faculty member and a former associate dean of the School of Medicine, died in May at age 76. A resident of El Macero, he was on the faculty during 1967–93. More . . .

Hans Riemann

Hans Riemann

Hans Riemann received many honors for his pioneering work in preventive veterinary medicine, but one that touched him deeply came in 1999 from Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. She knighted him for his contributions to livestock health and food safety. Dr. Riemann, a Danish native who joined the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine faculty in 1964 and helped found the master of preventive veterinary medicine program, returned to Denmark last year to regain his citizenship. He died there in March, five days before his 87th birthday. He was an elected member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, founding editor-in-chief of the journal Preventive Veterinary Medicine and a charter member of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. He co-authored the first textbook on veterinary epidemiology. He retired in 1990, but continued research on preventing salmonella contamination on poultry farms. But the former farm boy didn’t expect anyone to call him “Sir Hans” after he received the cross of the Order of the Knight of Dannebrog, saying “colleagues can call me whatever they want to call me.” More . . .

John Whelan, a law professor during 1967–75, died in March after a brief illness. He was 84 years old. He was a resident of Mill Valley and emeritus professor at Hastings College of the Law. More . . .

William Wildman, Ph.D. ’67, a Cooperative Extension soils specialist during 1967–88, died in April at his Davis home. He was 84. A pilot, he helped develop the use of color and infrared aerial photos to monitor the spread of phylloxera in vineyards and other crop pests, as well as to document California reservoir levels during the 1975–77 drought, soil erosion and flood-control problems.

« Back to News & Notes