Samuel Stanford Manson (Stan) passed away peacefully on July 7, 2013 at the age of 93 in Santa Barbara. He had moved from Cleveland, Ohio in the mid 90s to California where 3 of his 5 children lived. He first resided in Los Angeles and then moved to Santa Barbara where he enjoyed being a part of the Vista del Monte Retirement Community. Stan was an accomplished scientist, prolific writer, engaging lecturer, beloved professor, philan-thropist, loving father and grandfather who will be sorely missed by all who knew him.
Stan was born in Jerusalem on August 14, 1919. At age 7, he and his family immigrated to Brooklyn. After quickly mastering the English language and becoming a brilliant student in mathematics, he entered Cooper-Union Institute of Technology and graduated with highest honors in 1937. In 1942, he earned an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. He married Theresa Palay in 1946 and together they raised five children. Theresa died of ovarian cancer in 1980.
Stan began his professional career with the Langley Research Center of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in Hampton, Virginia. In 1943, he transferred to the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in Cleveland, later known as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center, where he became Chief of the Materials and Structures Division. His research at NASA on the mechanical durability behavior of materials and structures was crucial to advances in gas-turbine engines and to the design of the Space Shuttle main engines. Among his many research accomplishments was the development of an equation, known as the ‘Manson-Coffin Law’, which today forms the basis of virtually all strain-based fatigue models for low-cycle and thermal-cycling fatigue.
In 1974, Stan retired from NASA and joined the faculty of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland as a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. Throughout his career, he also taught summer classes at Pennsylvania State University and guest taught at such institutions as Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Technion University in Israel. His lectures at universities and professional conferences throughout the country and throughout the world were met with great anticipation as he had earned a reputation for engaging and entertaining his audience no matter how dry the subject matter. Throughout his illustrious career, he authored several books, textbooks and articles in academic journals and earned numerous awards and honors. He completed his last series of textbooks just shy of his 90th birthday.
Stan is survived by his five children (Margaret Entis of Newton, MA; Richard of Los Angeles, CA; Carolyn of Lafayette, CA; JoAnn of Beverly, MA; Hilary Stone of Santa Barbara, CA) and 11 grandchildren (Shira, Jonathan, Chloe, Alexandra, Jennifer, Jeffrey, Paul, Erin, Jeremy, Cecily, and Joshua).
A memorial service was held at Mount Sinai Memorial Park in Los Angeles on July 9. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Jewish Federation at www.jewishfederations.org.
