In Memoriam

BELIEF IN ENGINEERING

Bob Aiken ’52 and his wife, Brenda, endowed a legacy that will span generations.

As it mourned the loss of alumnus Bob Aiken ’52 this past fall, the university community reflected upon his profound impact and a legacy that will support engineering at Case for decades to come. Aiken died November 12, 2018, at his home outside of Philadelphia at age 88. The year before, he and Brenda—his wife of 61 years—committed $20 million to support biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University. The exceptional gift climaxed a lifetime of support for his alma mater and the engineering programs that he passionately believed in.

“Bob was a warm and wise man who appreciated innovation for the ways it could help people reclaim parts of themselves lost to illness or injury,” University President Barbara Snyder said upon his death. “We are grateful for his support, insight and—most of all—recognition of the power of learning and discovery to transform lives.”

Aiken earned his mechanical engineering degree from Case Institute of Technology in 1952. He spent almost his entire career at the chemical giant DuPont, with the exception of one opportune tour in the Navy. In 1955, he enrolled in Officer’s Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. As a young lieutenant, he was stationed in Naples, Italy. There, he met a naval captain’s daughter, Brenda Jean Ashton, whom he soon married.

The Aikens were members of the Case Dean’s Society for more than 20 years in honor of their leadership level gifts to the Case School of Engineering. In 2005, they established the Robert M. and Brenda A. Aiken Scholarship Fund, which supports juniors and seniors majoring in biomedical engineering. Bob Aiken explained his motivation in a 2007 interview with Case Alumnus.

“My wife was diagnosed with Parkinson’s about 12 years ago, and today she’s just doing great. But I went back in my mind to 1952, and I could see the advantage of combining mechanical engineering and medicine,” he told the magazine. “I tried to establish the fund for students who want to be mechanical engineers but want to partner, which I’m big on from my business experience, to try to combine the two professions to come out with solutions to problems that will advance the field and reduce suffering.”

In 2013, he was given the Meritorious Service Award by the Case Alumni Association. Soon after, the Aikens began to envision a major, multifaceted strategic initiative fund for biomedical engineering research, students and programs.

President Snyder announced the Aikens’ $20 million gift in the fall of 2017.

The family asks that memorial gifts be made to the Aiken Strategic Initiative at Case Western Reserve c/o CWRU, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106.

Walter K. Asbeck ‘36, MS ‘39, PhD ‘40; Chardon, OH; 9-11-18 William B. Seaver ‘38; Fairfield, CT; 7-28-18 Robert H. Lease ‘42; Hilton Head Island, SC; 11-19-18 Frank C. Bayer ‘45; Carlsbad, CA; 7-5-16 Laura D. Crowl ‘45; Olmsted Falls, OH; 11-25-18 William E. Kreger ‘46; Seattle, WA; 10-31-14 Thomas E. Murphy ‘46; Mentor, OH; 8-12-18 Carl Zwierlein Jr. ‘47; Westlake, OH; 10-15-18 Peter W. Allen ‘48; Southbury, CT; 9-3-18 Alan A. David ‘48; Simpsonville, SC; 5-25-18 Ernest C. Krauth ‘48; New Port Richey, FL; 6-10-18 Dale K. Mann ‘48; Austin, TX; 5-10-18 Wilbur C. Myers ‘48; Littleton, CO; 7-31-18 Val P. Shellenbarger ‘48; Southern Pines, NC; 1-19-16 Robert L. Nekola ‘49; Akron, OH; 5-17-18 Raymond N. Outzs ‘49; San Diego, CA; 10-13-18 Simeon D. Teisher ‘49; Albuquerque, NM; 9-20-18 Lawrence F. Arnold ‘50; Avon Lake, OH; 10-7-18 J. Norman Beidler ‘50; Turlock, CA; 9-19-18 Joseph B. Murdoch ‘50, PhD ‘62; Dover, NH; 9-21-18 John W. Overdorff ‘50; Cleveland, OH; 10-17-18 Clair E. Phillips ‘50; Mineola, NY; 4-12-17 Clarence J. Svoboda ‘50; Eastlake, OH; 7-8-18 Kenneth M. Yarus ‘50; Lyndhurst, OH; 4-26-18 Glade R. Fuller ‘51; Chesterton, IN; 9-23-18 Robert M. Aiken ‘52; West Chester, PA; 11-12-18 David P. Harry ‘52; Redlands, CA; 9-17-13 Harvey W. Preslan ‘52; Wooster, OH; 8-17-18 Edward A. Steigerwald ‘52, MS ‘53, PhD ‘59; Mayfield Village, OH; 8-29-18 James A. Malley ‘53; Akron, OH; 8-25-18 George A. Beck ‘54; Wilmington, NC; 11-3-18 Henry J. Venetta 54; Warren, OH; 8-26-18 Morton R. Kagan ‘55; Huntingdon, PA; 4-29-17 James E. Keat Jr. ‘55; Silver Spring, MD; 8-19-18 Ray S. Komori ‘55; Ranch Palos Verde, CA; 9-4-18 John “Jack” E. Schmidt Jr. ‘55; Berwyn, PA; 11-26-18 Stuart R. Blood ‘56; Lexington, KY; 2-7-18 Cataldo Cialdella MS ‘56; Highland Heights, OH; 11-19-18 Richard G. Gido ‘56; Albuquerque, NM; 9-8-18 Kenneth W. Hotz ‘56; Medina, OH; July 2018 Thomas C. Jones ‘56; Johnson City, TN; 3-4-18 Mark G. Morris ‘56; Santa Maria, CA; 7-29-18 Alfred B. Thomas ‘56; Grosse Pointe, MI; 9-25-18 David O. Carlyle ‘57; Westford, MA; 10-30-18 James D. Henrie ‘57; Crescent, PA; 12-14-18 Richard I. Kermode ‘57; Lexington, KY; 6-16-18 Charles W. Nezbeda ‘57; Brooklyn, OH; 8-30-18 Richard S. Tunder ‘57, San Jose, CA; 1-27-17 Wendell G. Voss MS ‘57; Indianapolis, IN; 10-11-18 Joel D. Finegan MS ‘58, PhD ‘61; Rockford, IL; 9-11-18 Robert N. Milner ‘58; Paso Robles, CA; 6-14-99 William B. Ferguson Jr. ‘59; Longwood, FL; 3-6-11 Kentland A. Krause ‘59; Los Angeles, CA; 10-4-18 Edward F. Miller ‘59, PhD ‘69; North Olmsted, OH; 10-9-18 Marvin L. Olson ‘59; Peoria, IL; 10-6-18 Michael J. Skehan ‘59; Cary, NC; 7-2-18 Robert J. Tomsich ‘59; Cleveland, OH; 4-30-18 Harold Farkas ‘60, MS ‘64; Madison, WI; 6-21-18 James F. Hahn ‘60; Gainesville, GA; 7-17-18 Wayne A. Kuhn ‘60; Redlands, CA; 12-9-17 Irving Malkin MS ‘60; Parma, OH; 12-25-18 Harold T. Nissley ‘60, MS ‘69; Los Altos, CA; 9-17-17 Gerald A. Praver ‘60; Cambria, CA; 4-30-18 John R. Sheller MS ‘60; Middletown, OH; 9-11-18 Robert A. Fleming ‘61; Alexandria, VA; 5-16-18 Alan D. Buell ‘62; Navarre, FL; 9-1-18 Alfred B. Cahen MS ‘62; Cleveland, OH; 4-28-18 Alexander Kryiakis MS ‘62; St. Petersburg, FL; 9-8-18 James C. LoPresto ‘62, MS ‘64; Edinboro, PA; 10-8-18 Jon A. Beyer ‘63; Lomita, CA; 8-25-14 William L. Schultz ‘64, MS ‘67, PhD 79; Solon, OH; 7-11-18 James G. Hunter Jr. ‘65; Santa Barbara, CA; 6-1-15 Stanley M. Antczak ‘66; Cleveland, OH; 10-10-18 W. David Netzer ‘66; Columbus, OH; 9-9-18 Robert G. Wilhelm Jr. ‘66, MS ‘68; Powell, OH; 8-20-18 Robert A. Gadosik ‘67; Mentor, OH; 9-24-18 Robert A. Hovis MS ‘67; Cleveland, OH; 7-1-18 John G. Papp ‘67, MS ‘73, PhD ‘74; Middleburg Hts., OH; 4-12-18 Robert E. Schafrik ‘67; Williamsburg, VA; 7-10-18 Ronald C. Domeck ‘68; Hudson, OH; 5-10-15 Carl E. Locke MS ‘70; Cleveland, OH; 4-30-18 Leonard J. Sedlacek ‘70; North Olmsted, OH; 9-15-18 Elizabeth M. Dabrowski MS ‘74; Cleveland, OH; 5-19-18 Erik P. Kristoffersen ‘76; Denver, CO; 6-2-18 Donald D. Solomon MS ‘77, PhD ‘78; North Salt Lake City, UT; 2-6-15 Andreas A. Meyer ‘83, MS ‘85; Cleveland, OH; 3-8-18 Nell E. Owens MS ‘87; Indianapolis, IN; 1-2-19 Diana J. Reinhardt, nee Howard ‘88; Vancouver, WA; 10-10-18 Paul B. Zajac ‘89; Baton Rouge, LA; 9-12-17