Obituary

14 February 2001

Edward Crossman
Industrial Engineering and Operations Research Professor Emeritus Edward Robert Francis Ward Crossman died in his home Monday, Feb. 5, after a brief battle with lymphoma. He was 75.

Although he retired in 1987, Crossman maintained an office in Etcheverry Hall until his death, and continued to meet with graduate students. He served as chair of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from 1969 to 1970.

Crossman was a pioneer in the fields of human performance and skill, socio-technical systems, organization, and interactive computer systems. He conducted early research in pilot aircraft dynamics and human factors affecting piloting.

After earning his Ph.D. in engineering production from Birmingham University in 1956, Crossman went on to teach at both Oxford and Reading Universities in England.

He joined the Berkeley faculty in 1964, when he was invited to begin a program in Implied Psychology and Human Factors in Engineering. Emigrating here with his wife and four children, Crossman became a naturalized citizen in the early 1970s.

Born in 1925 in Hambrooke, Bristol, England, Crossman served with the Royal Air Force during World War II, and was in Hiroshima, Japan immediately after the bombing. An early radio and computer aficionado, inventor, and tinkerer, Crossman had a broad range of interests throughout his life.

He was preceded in death by his oldest son, Francis Hedley Danvers Crossman, and his only daughter, Lucia Edna Alice Crossman. He is survived by sons Robert Edward and Martin John Crossman, former wife Patricia, daughter-in-law Rachel Crossman, and grandchildren Frank, Ruth, Chloe, and Robin John Crossman. Additionally, he is survived by a sister, Alice Crossman of Rome, Italy, and various nieces, nephews and cousins.

A memorial service for Crossman will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 17, at Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St., Berkeley.

Donations may be made in his honor to the Berkeley Free Clinic.