June 9, 2015
The department is deeply saddened to announce that Professor Bob E. Schutz passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on June 7, 2015.
Dr. Schutz joined the ASE/EM faculty at The University of Texas at Austin in 1969. His research interests included space geodesy and its applications, space geodetic instrumentation, orbital mechanics, mission planning and computational techniques.
He was the science team leader for NASA's Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS), an instrument used to measure topography that operated on the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) in Earth's orbit for seven years.
Dr. Schutz was a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the American Geophysical Union and the American Astronautical Society. Most recently, he held the Joe J. King Chair in Engineering and the FSX Professorship in Space Applications and Exploration.
Our sincere condolences go out to the family and loved ones of Dr. Schutz. He will be sorely missed by many.
UPDATE: The memorial service location has CHANGED. The new location for the service is St. Martin's Lutheran Church. There will be a memorial service and reception at St. Martin's Lutheran Church, 606 W. 15th St. Austin, TX 78701 on Saturday, June 13 at 2:00 p.m. Parking should be available in the garage across 16th Street, between Nueces and Rio Grande.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to either Hospice Austin or The University of Texas Cockrell School of Engineering Friends of Alec Program in one of the ASE (Aerospace Engineering) sub-departments.
Messages for his family can be posted online at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/drbobschutz/journal
