Stanley A. Berger, Montford G. Cook professor emeritus of mechanical engineering and bioengineering and a renowned expert in fluid mechanics, died on Nov. 25, 2013. He was 79, and died at his home in Berkeley of pneumonia.
In his 50 years on the UC Berkeley faculty, Berger applied his knowledge to solving real-life problems in physiology, medicine and engineering, on topics ranging from sickle cell anemia to vortex breakdowns in aircraft flight. He was best known for his research on the mechanics of blood flow. He was instrumental in work with the UCSF School of Medicine on analyzing the progression of arterial and atherosclerotic diseases, work that had a direct effect on the diagnosis and treatment decisions being made by radiologists and surgeons.
Berger was one of the founders of the UC Berkeley Department of Bioengineering in 1998 and the UC Berkeley – UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering in 1983, and actively shaped the direction of the department and the graduate program. He will be missed.