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Thomas Larkin, prof. emeritus, School of Art
Thomas Larkin, professor emeritus of the School of Art, died of Hodgkin’s disease on Nov. 3, 1992. She was 29.
Rozentals was died of complications from heart surgery on Oct. 28, 1992 at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. He was 68 years old.
An internationally known researcher in the fields of manufacturing engineering and dynamic systems analysis, Wu created and defined the modern field of manufacturing automation.
“Like all his many friends at the U-M, Anne and I are deeply saddened by Sam Wu’s death,” said President James J. Duderstadt. “I have known Sam for many years, and have always been proud that we were able to attract him to Michigan.
“His teaching, his research, his mentorship of hundreds of students, and his work with industry have added immensely to the University. He was my colleague and my friend. All of us deeply mourn his loss and we will all miss him.”
Wu was the first researcher to introduce advanced statistical techniques to manufacturing research. Called the Dynamic Data System, Wu’s methodology provides a mathematical description of complex manufacturing processes based on on-line system operational data that can be used for system diagnostics and quality control.
The Dynamic Data System is the basis for quality improvement programs implemented by manufacturing firms worldwide, including General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp. Wu was a consultant to all three automotive firms on issues related to overall manufacturing quality improvement, precision measurement and calibration techniques, and innovative machine tool methodologies.
“Prof. Wu was a courageous leader who firmly established the University of Michigan’s credibility with industry as a valued partner in continuously improving manufacturing capability,” said Dwight Carlson, president and CEO of Perceptron Inc. in Farmington Hills.
Wu joined the U-M in 1987 as a professor of mechanical engineering and applied mechanics and as the J. Reid and Polly Anderson Professor of Manufacturing Technology. He also was the director of the National Science Foundation’s Industry/University Cooperative Research Center at U-M.
Prior to joining the U-M, he was a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he taught for 30 years.
During his academic career, Wu trained 113 Ph.D. students in manufacturing engineering, many from China. Almost one-quarter of the current active U.S. faculty in manufacturing engineering studied under Wu or under one of his students.
Wu received the U-M Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award in October.
In December 1991, he received the Chiang Technology Achievement Award from the Chiang Industrial Charity Foundation Ltd. in Hong Kong. This award included a $100,000 cash prize, which Wu donated to the College of Engineering to establish a fund to support manufacturing engineering students and their research.
He was the recipient of numerous other awards, including the Society of Manufacturing Engineers National Education Award (1974), the University of Wisconsin AMOCO Distinguished Teaching Award (1977) and the Fulbright Distinguished Professorship in the U.S.S.R. (1988).
Wu was preceded in death by his son, Benjamin, who died here Sept. 15, 1992 of complications from Parkinson’s Disease. He was 80 years old.
Sweet was best known for his development of a new approach to teaching Latin based on the application of modern linguistic theories and modern language learning theories. His textbook, Latin: A Structural Approach, and his multi-media programmed learning course, “Artes Latinae,” are still being used by classics instructors at many universities and high schools.
“Wally Sweet reformed the teaching of Latin and changed the profession forever,” said Latin Prof. Glenn M. Knudsvig. “He was a brilliant man and a great innovator who devoted his creativity to making his subject accessible to students. Much of the Latin teaching profession is just now catching up to what he started in the early 1950s.”
Sweet received an A.B. degree in 1934 from Amherst College and an M.A. in Greek in 1935 from Columbia University. He also received an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Greek history in 1943 from Princeton University. He taught Latin at several private schools and academies on the East Coast before joining the U-M in 1953, where he taught until his retirement in 1982.
Sweet served as chair of the University Committee for Foreign Language Instruction and established the Foreign Language Courier, a publication designed to share ideas with language teachers throughout Michigan and to strengthen support for foreign language study. In collaboration with the U-M Bureau of School Services, he conducted regular site visits to foreign language programs in Michigan high schools.
Sweet wrote or edited 13 books and nearly 50 articles on Latin instruction and classical studies. His most recent books included A Course on Words, published in 1982 with Knudsvig, and Sport and Recreation in Ancient Greece, published in 1987.
Sweet was a member of the American Philological Association, the Linguistic Society of America, and the American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages.
Sweet is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Osborne Sweet of Ann Arbor; two daughters, Deborah Page Sweet-Shomer of Port Townsend, Wash., and Holly Barlow Sweet of Wellesley, Mass.; one grandchild, Aliya Shomer; a sister, Frances Sweet Gordon of Long Meadow, Mass.; and one stepsister, Margaret Blake Ewing of Milwaukee, Wis.
At his request, Sweet’s body has been donated to the Medical School. A gathering in his memory will take place 5–7 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Homestead of the Leslie Science Center, 1831 Traver Road.
Clarence K. Pott
Clarence K. Pott, professor emeritus of Germanic languages and literatures, Born Oct. 30, 1906, in Amsterdam, Holland, Pott came to the United States in 1916, settling with his family in Holland. Prior to joining the U-M, he taught English at Christian High School in Holland and at Calvin College in Grand Rapids.
Pott is survived by his wife, Margaret Florence; sons, Joel of Royal Oak and Timothy of Ann Arbor; daughters, Susan Hutchinson of Holland, Martha Pott of Wellesley, Mass., and Claudia Pott of Washington, D.C.; eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He is also survived by a brother, Marinus Pott of Holland, and two sisters, Mrs. Dick (Gertrude) Zwiep and Mrs. Be (Henrietta) VanZeelt, both of Holland.
