Andrew Packard
Died
Andrew Packard, loving husband and father and adored professor, passed away on September 30, 2019 at the age of 59. He died as he lived, surrounded by friends and family. Andy is survived by his wife Johanna, son Zachary, and his mother and sisters.
Andy was born on July 7, 1960 in Chicago, Illinois, to Ann and Max Packard. He grew up in a large, loving family with his sisters Hilary, Betsy, Jean and Kathie. He earned a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, followed by his Master's and Ph.D at U.C. Berkeley. He did post-doctoral work at Cal Tech. He was a faculty member at U.C. Santa Barbara before joining the faculty at U.C. Berkeley in 1990.
Andy was a decorated professor, earning many awards including the Mechanical Engineering Department's best teaching award and the University's much-coveted Distinguished Teaching Award. He was recently awarded the prestigious Berkeley Citation, given to individuals whose contributions to UC Berkeley go beyond the call of duty and whose achievements exceed the standards of excellence in their fields. Andy is also recognized as a major early pioneer of robust control theory. He received numerous awards for his work in this area including the 1995 Eckman award for the most outstanding researcher (under 35) in automatic control and the 2005 IEEE Control Systems Technology award. He and colleagues, the late Gary Balas and Pete Seiler (who became his closest friends), wrote a comprehensive set of software tools (called the Robust Control Toolbox) for control system design. This toolbox, distributed by MathWorks, continues to be the standard worldwide, and is used by NASA, Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed, and many other leading companies. Universities all over the world have integrated his research results and software tools in their curricula.
While Andy's contributions to the field were tremendous, he was known equally well for his unparalleled commitment to his students and to the profession of teaching. Whether it was lecturing to a class of 15 or 200, tutoring high school math to Zach and his friends, or advising a group of Ph.D students, Andy put all of his energy into the task. His colleagues joked about the large lines of students waiting their turn to see him during office hours, regardless of whether they were taking a class from him or not.
Andy and his wife Johanna built community together around their family, friends, as well as students, staff and faculty. They host a monthly "Soup Night" at their home, which is frequented by colleagues, friends and neighbors alike. Andy enjoyed 5 mile runs through Berkeley with his dog, Nyack. He adored watching his son, Zach, play baseball and helping him with school projects and homework. He loved going to baseball games of any variety, whether it be Berkeley High, Cal or his beloved A's. In addition to his appreciation of conventional sports, he loved log-rolling, and dreamed to one day make it an Olympic sport. He appreciated all kinds of music; he loved playing the piano and jamming with like-minded friends. He appreciated stand up comedy and action movies, often cajoling his friends and family into watching some of his favorites.
Andy was a driven professional, as well as a loving father and husband. When diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014, he remained dedicated to his family and to the University. He fought his illness daily, maintaining humor and courage throughout, even during his final months.
We invite to join us as we celebrate his life Friday, November 15th, at 4:00 PM, at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Des Plaines, Illinois. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to The Sedman-Packard Scholarship, founded to support students transferring from junior college to UC Berkeley. Use the following link to donate online: engineering.berkeley.edu/packardfund
If you prefer to make a gift by check, please make your check payable to: UC Berkeley Foundation with the memo line: Sedman-Packard Scholarship and mail it to this address:
Donor and Gift Services
University of California, Berkeley
1995 University Avenue, Suite 400
Berkeley, CA 94704-1070
Andy was born on July 7, 1960 in Chicago, Illinois, to Ann and Max Packard. He grew up in a large, loving family with his sisters Hilary, Betsy, Jean and Kathie. He earned a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, followed by his Master's and Ph.D at U.C. Berkeley. He did post-doctoral work at Cal Tech. He was a faculty member at U.C. Santa Barbara before joining the faculty at U.C. Berkeley in 1990.
Andy was a decorated professor, earning many awards including the Mechanical Engineering Department's best teaching award and the University's much-coveted Distinguished Teaching Award. He was recently awarded the prestigious Berkeley Citation, given to individuals whose contributions to UC Berkeley go beyond the call of duty and whose achievements exceed the standards of excellence in their fields. Andy is also recognized as a major early pioneer of robust control theory. He received numerous awards for his work in this area including the 1995 Eckman award for the most outstanding researcher (under 35) in automatic control and the 2005 IEEE Control Systems Technology award. He and colleagues, the late Gary Balas and Pete Seiler (who became his closest friends), wrote a comprehensive set of software tools (called the Robust Control Toolbox) for control system design. This toolbox, distributed by MathWorks, continues to be the standard worldwide, and is used by NASA, Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed, and many other leading companies. Universities all over the world have integrated his research results and software tools in their curricula.
While Andy's contributions to the field were tremendous, he was known equally well for his unparalleled commitment to his students and to the profession of teaching. Whether it was lecturing to a class of 15 or 200, tutoring high school math to Zach and his friends, or advising a group of Ph.D students, Andy put all of his energy into the task. His colleagues joked about the large lines of students waiting their turn to see him during office hours, regardless of whether they were taking a class from him or not.
Andy and his wife Johanna built community together around their family, friends, as well as students, staff and faculty. They host a monthly "Soup Night" at their home, which is frequented by colleagues, friends and neighbors alike. Andy enjoyed 5 mile runs through Berkeley with his dog, Nyack. He adored watching his son, Zach, play baseball and helping him with school projects and homework. He loved going to baseball games of any variety, whether it be Berkeley High, Cal or his beloved A's. In addition to his appreciation of conventional sports, he loved log-rolling, and dreamed to one day make it an Olympic sport. He appreciated all kinds of music; he loved playing the piano and jamming with like-minded friends. He appreciated stand up comedy and action movies, often cajoling his friends and family into watching some of his favorites.
Andy was a driven professional, as well as a loving father and husband. When diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014, he remained dedicated to his family and to the University. He fought his illness daily, maintaining humor and courage throughout, even during his final months.
We invite to join us as we celebrate his life Friday, November 15th, at 4:00 PM, at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Des Plaines, Illinois. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to The Sedman-Packard Scholarship, founded to support students transferring from junior college to UC Berkeley. Use the following link to donate online: engineering.berkeley.edu/packardfund
If you prefer to make a gift by check, please make your check payable to: UC Berkeley Foundation with the memo line: Sedman-Packard Scholarship and mail it to this address:
Donor and Gift Services
University of California, Berkeley
1995 University Avenue, Suite 400
Berkeley, CA 94704-1070
Source: Chicago Tribune
Published on: 03-11-2019