Garret N. Vanderplaats Obituary

December 3, 2021

Ted Rose wrote a sympathy message

“I had the pleasure of working with Gary at several times over the years. In my experience, he was one of the most knowledgeable and honest people I have had the honor of working with. He and his knowledge will be missed.”

December 3, 2021

Prathamesh Sawarkar wrote a sympathy message

“My sincere condolences to Dr. Vanderplaats's family, relatives and colleagues.”

December 2, 2021

Chandan Mozumder wrote a sympathy message

“Our heartfelt condolences to family & friends of Dr. Vanderplaats. Gary is a pioneer in field of optimization algorithm & promoting their application in industry, with extensive career in academia, NASA & his own company. His books on Opt Techniques & MDO are used as primary textbooks by many students like me. His company hired me as a fresh PhD grad and helped lay foundation of my career in the field. Thank you Gary, you will be missed. -Chandan Mozumder (Apple, formerly GM & Vanderplaats R&D)”

November 30, 2021

Christophe charpentier wrote a sympathy message

“My sincere condolences to Gary's family, relatives and colleagues of VRAND. Gary offered me my first job. I remember his kind welcome when I first came to Colorado Springs, welcoming me in his home. I also remember his devotion to work and his great sens of humour. Please rest in peace. Christophe Charpentier”

November 29, 2021

KK Choi wrote a sympathy message

““My sincere condolences to Gary's family, friends and colleagues. I met Gary at a conference in 1981. He was a pioneer in optimization algorithms and made tremendous impact in industry’s use of optimization software. He always smiles and his wit, enjoyment of his work and his openness made significant impression on many colleagues including me. I enjoyed discussing with him on how to help industries. I will dearly miss him.” Dr. KK Choi, Professor Emeritus, Mech. Eng., Univ. of Iowa”

November 28, 2021

Wei Chen wrote a sympathy message

“Please accept my deep condolence to the family of Dr. Vanderplaats. Gary was a pioneer in developing optimization algorithms and bringing them to industry through his endeavor in software industry. I still remember I used his DOT code in Fortran when I was a graduate student more than 25 yars ago. His legend will be remembered by all of us. Dr. Wei Chen, Professor, Northwestern University, President of International Society of Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization (ISSMO)”

November 28, 2021

Srinivas Kodiyalam wrote a sympathy message

“Gary was my Ph.D. advisor at University of California, Santa Barbara. He was the ideal Professor, mentor and coach that one could get. I still remember the several days when he would walk into the Design Optimization Lab and we will walk over to the restaurant on Goleta beach talking about Surrogate Models and Approximation Methods. Gary was also my first boss at VMA Engineering where we had numerous discussions while co-designing and developing the Design Optimization modules in MSC Nastran software. My sincere condolences to Ginny and his family.”

November 28, 2021

Fabien Debarle wrote a sympathy message

“My sincere condolences to Gary's family, friends and colleagues. I keep a warm memory of Gary. He gave me the opportunity to work at VMA/VR&D 23 years ago for a 6 months internship. As a French student, it was a wonderful part of my life, a dream that came true. I'll never forget this time and all the people I met in Colorado. Thank you Gary”

November 26, 2021

Erwin Johnson wrote a sympathy message

“Gary was my mentor for my post-doc under him at NASA/Ames in 1975. He played a significant role in the development of the optimization techniques in the ASTROS and MSC.Nastran codes that I was involved with. He can be remembered as a key developer of commercial structural optimization codes. Gary was also a friend who led us on hiking trips out of Hetch-Hetchy. My family has fond memories of visiting Gary and Virginia at their homes in Santa Barbara and Colorado. My condolences.”

November 26, 2021

Douglas Neill wrote a sympathy message

“My sincere condolences to Gary's family and friends. I met Gary on my first project as a professional engineer in 1983. His wit, enjoyment of life and work and his openness were an influence on my life then and remain so now. My first professional presentation was done at the MDO conference Gary set in the spectacular location of Santa Barbara. I don't think I ever went to a conference again in such a great place. I will miss him.”

November 25, 2021

Masoud Rais-Rohani wrote a sympathy message

“I extend my sincere condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Dr. Vanderplaats. I had the pleasure of meeting Gary for the first time as a grad student in the 80's with frequent encounters in the years that followed. He made a lasting impression on me with his generous demeanor combined with his numerous enduring contributions and innovations in the field of optimization. He will be greatly missed. May his memories bring joy to his loved ones! Masoud Rais-Rohani Univ. of Maine”

November 25, 2021

Shahrokh Shahpar wrote a sympathy message

“Very sad to hear of Dr. Vanderplaats passing, although I don't live or work in the USA I had been influenced by his methods and teachings, a true pioneer of MDO techniques - He will be greatly missed. God rest his soul. Prof, Dr, Shahrokh Shahpar, FRoyalSoc,FAIAA.”