| Julian
(Jay) Forster, an early recruit by General Electric Company in 1956
to work on the development, engineering and construction of commercial
nuclear power plants, died in his home in San Jose, California on
May 29, 2007. He is survived by his wife, Frieda, their two children,
Jeffrey Forster of Monte Sereno, CA and Laura Gherman of Pebble
Beach, CA and granddaughter, Melissa Gherman.
In 1956, while taking a class for the US Navy in San Francisco,
Jay saw an ad seeking a physicist at General Electric’s Nuclear
Power Division located in San Jose. He applied and was awarded this
position, and came to California with his family. He worked for
GE until his retirement in 1980. He continued to consult in the
power industry for Quadrex Corporation until being recruited again
by GE in 1990.
Born in 1918 in New York City, the son of Rose and Meyer Kivitz,
he graduated from the City College of New York in 1940 with a BS
in physics. He married Frieda in 1941; she remained his loving wife
for 66 years.
An active member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
(the IEEE), Jay was elected Fellow, and then became Life Fellow,
for his more than 30 years in creating standards for the nuclear
power industry, and for making essential contributions to the growth
and success of commercial nuclear power through the use of computers
in plant operation and safety. In 2004 he received the IEEE Charles
Steinmetz award for his contributions to standards development.
Not content with just being an engineer or physicist, Jay was active
in his local community and served San Jose as Fine Arts Commissioner
for eight years. He was elected as a Distinguished Citizen of San
Jose, and was also President of Temple Emanu-el. He loved music,
wine, golf and the fine arts.
Jay will be missed not only by his family, but by the whole NPSS
community where he served not only as a developer of standards and
liaison to the standards board, but also as liaison to the Professional
Activities and Continuing Education Committees, and an elected member
of the Radiation Instrumentation Technical Committee.
ARTHUR H. GUENTHER
Arthur
H. Guenther (Art), a long-time resident of Albuquerque, passed away
April 21, 2007, at the age of 76. Art was born on April 20, 1931,
in Hoboken, NJ, to Florence and George Guenther. As a child (and
throughout his life), he loved the outdoors and became New Jersey's
youngest Eagle Scout. After earning a B.S. in Chemistry at Rutgers,
he married his high school sweetheart Joan and went on to Penn State
earning a Ph.D. in Chemistry/Physics. Art is survived by his wife
of 52 1/2 years, Joan; daughter, Tracie (TK) O’Geary and husband,
Dan; daughter, Wendy Gallegos and husband, Ralph; grandchildren,
Chelsea and Cassy Gallegos; sister, Palmeria Crawford; and sister
and brother-in-law, Florence and Ray Reinertsen. Art was preceded
in death by his son, Gregory.
Guenther served in the USAF ROTC while at Rutgers and, after graduation
from Penn State, the Air Force assigned him to KAFB in 1957. He
then transferred to civil service, spending 15 of his 31 Air Force
years as Chief Scientist of the USAF Weapons Lab. Art also served
as the Science Advisor for three different New Mexico Governors
and held positions at Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories.
An internationally recognized scientist, government advisor, and
consultant, Art served many roles in long-range planning, science
and technology policy, technical education, technology commercialization,
and research and development. Art made an international impact,
received many awards including one from President Reagan and two
New Mexico Public Service Awards, and had more than 350 publications.
Art liked bringing people and organizations together. He once said
"I just try to help people, meet people, and put people together.
When good people meet, good things happen."
The Pulsed Power Science and Technology Committee recommended to
AdCom, and AdCom unanimously approved, that the annual “Outstanding
Pulsed Power Student Award” be renamed the “Arthur H.
Guenther Pulsed Power Student Award.” Art was a key founder,
and remained an active supporter for almost three decades, of the
highly-successful series of International Pulsed Power Conferences
which started in 1976 and became biennial in 1979. He was the Technical
Program Chair of PPC1979, the Conference Chair of PPC1981, the recipient
of the second IEEE Peter Haas Pulsed Power Award in 1989, and continued
as an active participant on the IEEE Pulsed Power Awards Committee
through PPC2003. Dr. Magne (Kris) Kristiansen and Dr. Donald Wunsch
presented a wonderful tribute to Art at the beginning of an Extended
Plenary Session for the Peter Haas Award Address at PPPS2007.
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