Sylvan Katz, Ph.D. '60

Sylvan Katz, Ph.D. '60, of Laguna Woods, California, died Jan. 29 with his son Randy at his bedside. Born in 1928 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sylvan Katz received his B.S. in mathematics at Yale, his M.S. at Columbia, and his Ph.D. in physics at UCLA. Katz was a member of the think tank at Los Alamos, New Mexico, in the early 1950s, where he worked on highly classified matters for the Defense Department, before he moved to Southern California, where he continued his career at Aeronutronic (Ford Aerospace) in Newport Beach, California, and then at Northrop in Hawthorne, California. Katz also taught electromagnetic theory at the graduate level at UC Irvine for the first five years of the university’s graduate program in physics. He designed and built the family’s home in Tustin, California, and, following his physics career, designed and built, or updated, a wide variety of houses throughout Orange County.

Katz was described by family members as a "kind and generous gentleman with a few well-deserved eccentricities. He enjoyed engaging people in challenging conversations by questioning established ideas and norms and would often stimulate discussions at gatherings with friends and family with his good-natured mental gymnastics. He also loved a good game of Rummikub with friends and a glass (or two) of Pepsi, his favorite beverage."

Katz is survived by his immediate family, son Randy Katz, J.D. '78, (Virginia) of Irvine, California, and his grandsons Jason Katz of Dallas, Texas, and Warren Katz of Long Beach, California. He is also survived by his brother, Paul Katz, M.D. (Linda) of Great Neck, New York, and his two sisters, Bunny Shulman (Stan) of Boynton Beach, Florida, and Wendy Kay (Norman) of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, as well as nieces and nephews. Interment is at Pacific View Memorial Park, Corona del Mar, California.