1934–2006

Elected in 1985

“For his managerial ability and research toward the mechanization of tree harvests.”

BY BRUCE R. HARTSOUGH, JOHN R. GOSS, AND WILLIAM J. CHANCELLOR

ROBERT FRIDLEY, Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Emeritus, University of California (UC), Davis, passed away at his home on March 19, 2006.

Born in Burns, Oregon, on June 6, 1934, Bob was raised in farming and lumbering communities in Oregon, Washington, and California, where his family was involved with farming and ranching on a part-time basis. To support his college education, he worked with livestock and in a fruit-packing shed and lumber mill, experiences that provided a strong foundation for his stellar career in engineering research focused on solving problems associated with biological systems.

Bob entered Sierra College in Auburn, California, in 1952 and graduated with an A.A. degree in 1954. He then entered the B.S. program in agricultural engineering at UC Davis. In 1955, he married Jean Griggs of Nevada City, California, and, just a year later, in 1956, he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering (issued by the College of Engineering, UC Berkeley). He was then offered a position at UC Davis as an assistant specialist in the Department of Agricultural Engineering. After he completed his M.S. in agricultural engineering in 1960, he was appointed assistant professor in 1961 and rapidly advanced to professor in 1969. He received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 1973 and became chair of the Department of Agricultural Engineering at UC Davis in 1974.