Mechanical Engineering Department Loses Emeritus Faculty Member Sanford Thayer
The College of Engineering regrets to inform you that Dr. Sanford (Sandy) Thayer, an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, passed away on January 5, 2005, after a struggle with cancer. A celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, January 9, at 3:00 p.m. at the Foothills Unitarian Church, 1815 Yorktown Avenue, Fort Collins.
Dr. Thayer graduated from Stanford University (BS '55, MS '57, PhD '65) in industrial engineering. Prior to joining CSU, he worked with the Stanford Research Institute. He came to Colorado State in 1966 to start the industrial engineering component of the graduate program in mechanical engineering, and taught classes and performed research in a wide variety of areas, including quality control, reliability and engineering economics. He was one of the first professors to teach under Colorado SURGE; SURGE was the predecessor to CSUN. He participated in CSU-sponsored projects funded by US AID in northeast Brazil and Sri Lanka. He taught in Korea, Japan and Taiwan while on sabbatical leave, and in China and New Zealand under the Fulbright Scholar program.
Dr. Thayer was a valued member of the CSU faculty and an excellent teacher who held high standards for his students. During his tenure at Colorado State, he was a member of the graduate committee for 110 Master's students, 15 Ph.D. students, and 1 MBA. He will be greatly missed by his students and colleagues. He worked until his full retirement in December of 1999.
Dr. Thayer was well respected for his intellect and deep understanding in a wide variety of fields. He served on public boards including the tramway board that oversees the safety of ski lifts in Colorado. He was well liked for his wit and insight, and could always be counted on to share a humorous story concerning an issue of the day.
He was a strong supporter of the political career of his wife, Nona, when she ran for Larimer County Commissioner in the mid-70s. They enjoyed hiking, biking and skiing with their children Ann, Eric, Jill and Troy.
In lieu of flowers, gifts are being accepted at the University of Colorado Foundation in memory of Dr. Thayer. Checks can be sent to: CU Foundation, 225 East 16th Avenue, Suite 690, Denver, CO 80203. Please indicate on the check that the gift is in memory of Sanford Thayer.