July 5, 2021

Dr Stephen Stow (1940-2021):
On June 30, Dr Stephen Stow passed away.  He earned a BA from Vanderbilt in 1962 and a MA and a PhD in Geochemistry from Rice in 1965 and 1966, respectively.  He worked for Continental Oil and taught Geology at the University of Alabama before spending the rest of his career at Oak Ridge from 1980 to 2005.  He was a nationally known expert on the Manhattan Project.  He is survived by, among others, his wife Jeanie.  Click here for the Knoxville News Sentinel obituary. 

July 4, 2021

Burton Randol:
On June 22, Burton Randol passed away at the age of 83.  A native New Yorker, he trained as a mathematician at Rice (BA ’59) and Princeton (PhD ’62).  He taught at Princeton, Yale and City University of New York.  Also, he “was an advanced amateur photographer as well as an enthusiastic golfer”.  He is survived by, among others, his wife Jamie.  Click here for The Journal News obituary. 

July 3, 2021

CB Baird Jr (1929-2021):
On June 28, CB Baird Jr passed away.  A native Texan, he graduated from Rice in 1950.  He enjoyed a career as a teacher and administrator in the Fort Worth ISD.  Also, he was the founding donor of the Ninnie L Baird Foundation, named in honor of his grandmother who founded Mrs. Baird’s Bakeries, which was at one time the nation’s largest independent baking company.  Also, he was an avid supporter of the Gunnison Arts Center.  Click here for the Star-Telegram obituary. 

July 1, 2021

UFO Phenomenon:
Jeffrey Kripal on how to think about the UFO phenomenon (Rice News)

Andrew Barron '81:
Barron Appointed Dilley Professor of Statistics and Data Science (Yale News)

Shelley Pennington (1956-2021):
On June 25, Shelley Pennington passed away.  Born in Hawaii, she graduated from Rice in 1978.  After college, she served in the military where she was trained as a pilot.  After she retired from active duty, she flew for TWA for ten years and finished her career at UPS as chief of pilot safety for both the 757 and 767 aircraft, retiring in 2012.  In retirement, she became an EMT and volunteered for the local first aid squad in Pennington, New Jersey.   

Pennington NJ EMS Top Volunteer Responder Dies (Peterson News)

June 30, 2021

Shepherd School of Music:
The original teen musical THE QUEST, co-written by Kieren McMillan who earned a Master of Music from Rice in 1997, will have its virtual debut this weekend.  Read more.

Brian Arnstrong '05/'06:
Coinbase CEO is coming to Disrupt (TechCrunch)

Cloy Causey (1931-2021):
On June 21, Cloy Causey passed away.  Born in Mississippi, he served in the military and then earned a BS from Mississippi State in 1958 and a PhD from Rice in 1966, both in Electrical Engineering.  He enjoyed a thirty-four year career with Texaco and then worked for the HARC and founded the ERCH before fully retiring in The Woodlands.   His “greatest joy was simply being with his family”.  He is survived by, among others, his wife of sixty-eight years, Barbara.  Click here for the Chronicle obituary.  

June 28, 2021

Erminie Chapman (1932-2021):
On June 23, Erminie Chapman passed away.  Born in Arkansas, she earned a BA in English from Rice in 1954 where she met and married David Chapman who earned a BS in Architecture from Rice in 1953.  In addition to raising a family of one son and five daughters, she was very active in the community.  Also, "her passions were tennis, travel, and entertaining”.  She is predeceased by, among others, David (they were married for 64 years) and their son Paul ’75 who passed away in 2017.  Click here for the Chronicle obituary.  

William Robin (Northwestern '10):
William Robin, a close family friend, is a regular contributor to the New York Times.  Yesterday, the Times published his obituary of Frederic Rzewski (1938-2021), the politically committed composer and pianist.