Kevin was a faculty member at SJSU since 1999 in the department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. He was the Director of HAIL (Human Automation Integration Laboratory) as well as Director of the Human Factors and Systems Engineering graduate program. His scholarship in human factors was recognized internationally. In 2004, he was the last person to be awarded the College of Engineering Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship.

Prior to becoming a faculty member at SJSU, he had a distinguished career at NASA Ames Research Center as Deputy Director of the Airspace Capacity Programs across NASA. He had also worked at BBN in Cambridge, MA, and JPL in Pasadena, CA.

A friend and colleague of Kevin’s, Dr. Lou Freund, Chair of Industrial and Systems Engineering, made a poignant remark when he pointed out that Kevin’s academic training was in psychology: “What is so difficult for us is that Kevin left us at another new peak in his academic career. His ability to integrate the fields of systems engineering and cognitive science will be sorely missed in the College of Engineering. That he blended so seamlessly with his engineering colleagues in all aspects of his COE role is a way of understanding the uniqueness of this man.”

Kevin received his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology/Engineering Systems as well as his M.S. in Psychology from UCLA. He had a B.A. in Psychology from Loyola College in Baltimore.

Having lectured on human performance modeling all over the world, including Australia, Canada, and Thailand, Kevin was the principal investigator on numerous grants awarded by NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, and EUROCONTROL (the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation).

Despite Kevin’s illness in the last year, Kevin maintained his high level of research. In October 2007, he and a colleague were awarded a $1.5M NASA grant. Their project, “Integrated Approaches for Surface Traffic Optimization,” will develop algorithms to ease air traffic congestion and improve safety at all U.S. airports.

An esteemed scholar, Kevin was also an inspiring teacher. In April he was given the Don Newnan Excellence in Teaching Award for his work with graduate and undergraduate students.

Kevin's children, Sam and Sarah, and Kevin's wife, Sandy, have requested that donations should be made to the Cancer Society in lieu of flowers and cards.

Kevin's commitment to excellence is evident by the way he lived his life. He was a man of wisdom, strength, and integrity. We miss him deeply.

The college will honor the life and work of Kevin at a memorial service on Thursday, February 7, 2008, at 5:00pm in the engineering auditorium, ENG 189. We hope that you will be able to attend to celebrate his life.

To read SJSU’s story about Kevin go to http://www.sjsu.edu/news/news_detail.jsp?id=2738.
To read about Kevin in the San Jose Mercury News go to http://www.mercurynews.com/obituaries