In Memoriam

Tung-Hua Lin
Joseph Miller
Peter Marris

Tung-Hua Lin

Tung-Hua Lin, a professor emeritus at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science who was a major contributor to the safety of building materials and a pioneer in China's aviation history, died on June 18 of heart failure. He was 96.

"Professor Lin was a true inspiration to me," said William W-G. Yeh, UCLA distinguished professor of civil and environmental engineering and Lin's friend and colleague of nearly 40 years. "After his retirement, he continued to come to his office to work with his Ph.D. students and postdocs, all the way until his passing. His presence in the department and his continued high level of outstanding research that spans over six decades have provided a model for all of us to emulate."

Lin was born in China in 1911. He earned his bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1933 from JiaoTong University. Following graduation, he was one of a select group of Chinese students to earn a highly competitive fellowship to study in the United States. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning a master's degree in 1936.

After MIT, Lin spent a year working at several U.S. aerospace firms, including Wright Aeronautical of New Jersey, the Glenn E. Martin Company in Baltimore and Vultee Aircraft (predecessor to General Dynamics).

He returned to China in 1937 to work as a professor at TsingHua University in Beijing. Due to the war with Japan, he eventually took a position with the Chinese Air Force to design and build warplanes for the country.

He was first asked to refurbish Italian- and Soviet-made planes. But as World War II continued, much of the Chinese fleet was destroyed by the faster Japanese Zeros. By the middle of the war, Lin's work turned from keeping old planes flyable, to constructing China's own planes from scratch. With only his memory of aeronautics and a few American textbooks, Lin designed and led the building of the first twin-engine airplane made in China — a wooden bomber-turned-transport craft called the C-0101.

Without any wind tunnel tests, Lin flew on the plane's maiden voyage. It was a success and the workers and villagers watching the event cheered when it flew by.

"I told him to fly lower so it would look faster," Lin recalled telling the pilot for a 1991 Los Angeles Times story about the accomplishment. "The workers felt really great. They thought the plane was very good because it was so fast."

Lin returned to the United States with his wife and three children in 1949.

Lin earned his D.Sc. from the University of Michigan in 1953. He joined UCLA Engineering in 1955 as a visiting professor and became a full professor the following year.

At UCLA Engineering, Lin made significant contributions to the safety of building materials. He derived an analytical method that predicts the soundness of metal structures in airplanes, buildings and bridges. Lin's method allowed engineers to predict how stress and strain will affect structures under various circumstances, including differing temperatures and loading conditions. He also made important contributions to the study of composite materials and the micromechanics of metals.

"Professor Lin's research has led to much safer buildings, structures, aircrafts and other vehicles throughout the world," said Jiann-Wen Woody Ju, UCLA professor of civil and environmental engineering. "The methods he invented will keep his memory alive for generations of engineers from many disciplines."

Lin retired from UCLA in 1978, but continued to be active in research and teaching. In 1988, the American Society of Civil Engineers awarded Lin its Theodore von Karman medal, given for distinguished achievement in engineering mechanics. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1990, the highest professional honor awarded to an American engineer. In 2001, a Gingko tree was planted in front of UCLA's Boelter Hall to commemorate his 90th birthday.

Lin is survived by his daughter, Rita, a retired schoolteacher; son Robert, a physics professor at UC Berkeley; son James, a mathematics professor at UC San Diego; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ruiyi. Lin married En Yu (Diana) last year.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, July 21, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park–Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90068. Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Funeral services will be held on the same day at 2:30 p.m. in Old North Church on the Forest Lawn grounds.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the Professor T.H. Lin Scholarship Endowment for a UCLA civil and environmental engineering student. Checks can be made out to: UCLA Engineering, with "T.H. Lin Scholarship Endowment" in the memo line. They can be sent to the Office of External Affairs, 6266 Boelter Hall, Box 951600, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1600. Phone: (310) 206-0678.

Joseph Miller

Joseph Miller, an adjunct professor at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and a former vice president and general manager at TRW Applied Technology Group, died on July 5 in a bicycling accident. He was 70.

Miller was a triple graduate of UCLA Engineering, earning bachelor's, master's and Ph.D. degrees ('57, '58 and '62). He had a distinguished career in spaceflight engineering, in high-energy laser research and as an executive at TRW. He returned to the school in 1997, where he taught an undergraduate course on engineering design.

In the 1960s, Miller was the chief development engineer for the Lunar Module Descent Engine. This powered the Apollo Lunar Excursion Modules as they descended to deliver the first humans to the Moon's surface.

From 1971 to 1980, Miller served as the chief engineer and program director for TRW's high-energy laser projects. He would later become vice president and general manager for TRW's Applied Technology Group.

In 1991, Miller was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, the highest professional honor for an American engineer, for his contributions to advanced, high-power lasers and optical systems.

After he retired from TRW, Miller joined UCLA in 1997 as an adjunct professor, teaching a course he designed titled, "The Art of Engineering Endeavors." In this class, Miller covered the essence of engineering design, along with the moral, ethical and environmental aspects of engineering design and management. He also emphasized that great engineering accomplishments were the direct results of great collaboration. He taught the course twice a year until his death.

In his eulogy address, Gershon Weltman, who teaches a companion engineering ethics course at UCLA, described Miller as a "consummate engineer" and an "engineer's engineer."

"Joe stressed that perhaps contrary to expectations, engineering is a social discipline," Weltman said of his longtime friend. "It is social in its process and also in its purpose and effect on society. Joe taught that engineering is social in its process because it depends basically on teamwork. Joe talked with feeling on the formation of effective teams, on the skills of team management and leadership, on team ethics and on the need to know one's own self in order to survive and understand others."

Miller's practical and thoughtful approach to engineering earned him much praise from his students as well. In a course review, one student wrote that Miller's class was "one of the most valuable and insightful engineering courses," and that it was "taught by an intelligent, visionary and caring professor."

Outside of engineering, Miller was an accomplished violinist and was the concertmaster of the Pacific Palisades Symphony. He was also a cycling enthusiast. Before his death, Miller was training for a 100-mile charity bike ride to benefit the ALS Association Greater Bay Area Chapter.

Miller is survived by his wife, Judith; daughters Elizabeth and Mona; son David; and five grandchildren, all from the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, he is survived by his mother, Ida Major, and three siblings.

In lieu of flowers, the Miller family requests that donations be made to the ALS Association Greater Bay Area Chapter.

Peter Marris

Peter Marris, former head of UCLA's Department of Urban Planning and vice chair of the former School of Architecture and Urban Planning, died June 25 at his home in Guilford, Conn. He was 79.

Born on July 6, 1927, in London, England, Marris was a well-known sociologist who came to UCLA in 1976 and served as head of the urban planning program from 1978 to 1981. He wrote nine books, including "Widows and Their Families," "The Experience of Higher Education," "African Businessmen" (with Anthony Somerset), "Family and Social Change in an African City," "Dilemmas of Social Reform" (with Marin Rein), and "Loss and Change." Other books include "Meaning and Action" and "The Politics of Uncertainty." Marris also wrote a novel, "The Dreams of General Jerusalem."

In 1991, Marris settled in Connecticut and taught at Yale. Prior to that, he lived in London, New York, Nairobi, Lagos and Los Angeles. He is survived by his wife, Yale Professor Dolores Hayden; his younger brother, Tyrrell Marris; and his daughter, Laura.