FPN10-21
H. Guyford Stever Passes at Age 93
April 15, 2010
H. Guyford Stever, science advisor to presidents Nixon and Ford, passed
away April 9 in Gaithersburg, MD, at age 93. Stever received his Ph.D.
from California Institute of Technology in 1941 and worked on radar
during World War II. He spent much of his career at MIT, serving as
head of the departments of mechanical engineering, naval architecture
and marine engineering, while also holding a professorship of
aeronautical engineering. As chief scientist for the U.S. Air Force,
Stever headed a panel on space technology that led to the creation of
NASA in 1958. Stever became president of Carnegie Institute of
Technology, which became Carnegie Mellon University, in 1965. He became
Director of the U.S. National Science Foundation in 1972 and first
Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
(OSTP) in 1976. After the space shuttle Challenger blew up in 1986, he
headed a panel charged with overseeing the rocket's booster redesign.
In May 1990, Stever was asked by then Department of Energy Secretary
James Watkins to chair a Fusion Policy Advisory Committee (FPAC). In
transmitting the panel's final report on September 25, 1990, Stever told
the Secretary, "After subjecting the fusion program to close scrutiny,
the Committee believes that there are persuasive reasons for the U.S. to
commit to a responsible, goal-oriented fusion energy development
program." He said, "Both MFE and IFE should increase industrial
participation to permit an orderly transition to an energy program with
strong emphasis on technology development. Both require strong
university programs to ensure the education of fusion scientists and
engineers, to advance fundamental understanding, and to develop fusion
technologies and new concepts."
Fusion Power Associates presented Stever with its 1991 Distinguished
Career Award.