Former Dean of Engineering Nelson passes away at 76
January 20Former Dean of Engin-eering Frederick Nelson, remembered by his colleagues for his passion and sense of humor, died last week of melanoma. He was 76. "He was a wonderful human being and we're going to miss him. He had a wonderful sense of humor — very dry. He loved to tell stories," current Dean of Engineering Linda Abriola told the Daily. Nelson, who served as Dean from 1980 to 1994, officially retired from Tufts in 2007. He was finishing a textbook entitled "An Introduction to Rotordynamics," which is expected to be published later this year. He had been coming into his office every day up until November to put the finishing touches on the book, Abriola said, pointing out the tendency of former faculty to return to do work or research at the university. Though she is not his direct successor, Abriola knew Nelson during his years as a professor. "I was close to him because he was sort of my history; he was able to give me background and history whenever I needed it," she said. "He was one of the people I turned to for advice and knowledge." Nelson graduated from what was then the Tufts College of Engineering in 1954 and went on to receive his Ph.D. from Harvard in applied mechanics in 1961. He wrote more than 50 articles related to his interests in acoustics, vibrations, shock mechanics and rotordynamics, the study of rotating structures. Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Associate Provost Vincent Manno said that Nelson was "such an outstanding student" at Tufts that he was asked to remain as an instructor even while pursuing his Ph.D. at Harvard. Nelson did consulting work for several groups, the most notable of which is Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, one of the primary contributors to the Apollo space missions. "[Draper Laboratory is] basically the place where practical gyroscopes were developed," Manno said, noting that this was one of Nelson's areas of expertise. Nelson also received many awards, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' Centennial Medal, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology's King Sejong Medal and Tufts' Distinguished Service Medal. A proud modesty, however, prevented many from knowing how accomplished Nelson was. "What was really remarkable about him … was basically the even nature of his demeanor," Manno said. "He was fair, funny, in many ways humble. He achieved great things, but he was the type of person where you would never know it." According to Manno, many of his colleagues described Nelson as avuncular. He was "the wise person in your family that you go to for sage advice and always has an even keel," he said. Nelson never lost his temper or raised his voice, Manno continued. He was always fair and kind, but firm, he said, adding that Nelson was "not a pushover." At his core, Nelson was a teacher. "He loved to teach. His students were number one on his list," Manno said. Manno added that he and his colleagues were shocked by Nelson's sudden passing. "We're all sort of stunned at his loss; he wasn't terribly old by modern standards. It's a real shame," he said. "He was, as far as we knew, very healthy. He was still here even though he had retired," Abriola said. Nelson's son Richard died of cystic fibrosis in 2001. He leaves behind his wife, three children and four grandchildren.
