SEAS administrator dies at age 59

Jacob Abel, who served for nearly 30 years on the faculty of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, passed away March 8, having dedicated his life to student advancement. He died at the age of 59. Friends described Abel as a great person, an excellent scholar and an individual who was very concerned about the quality of undergraduate education. "He had a lot of innovative ideas. [We] worked together on the two-year National Science Foundation grant, which was a funded for the development of innovative undergraduate experience," said Engineering School Undergraduate Curriculum Chairperson John Lepore, who had been friends with Abel since 1969. "He had a lot of ideas that we will continue to use, such as developing hands on laboratory experiments for freshmen not only in engineering but all students," Lepore added. "[His death] was a big surprise," he added. "We knew he was sick but the severity of his illness was a surprise." Abel was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on June 3, 1936 and began his education in the New York City public school system. He attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree in 1957. He then worked as an engineer in California and moved to the East Coast to work for General Electric. He began his graduate studies in Engineering Mechanics at the University in 1960. Abel earned his Ph.D. in 1966 under the supervision of Engineering Professor Maurice Brull. One year later, Abel was invited to join the faculty and was appointed an assistant professor of Engineering Mechanics. In 1972, Abel was promoted to associate professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics. A few years later, he was selected to serve as ombudsman for the University. Abel also chaired the Personnel Benefits Committee. In 1978 he became the chairperson of the engineering department and graduate group in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics. Three years later, he became a full professor and a few years later served the University in its highest elected faculty office as Faculty Senate chairperson. Between 1991 and 1992, he served the nation as program director for undergraduate education at the National Science Foundation. When he returned to Penn, Abel served two years as associate dean for educational development and special programs. He created several new courses, including a freshman seminar on the technological experience in literature and a discovery orientated laboratory. Abel's commitment to education also included his work in the training of Philadelphia teachers who came to campus during the summer as part of a Penn-Merck Pharmaceuticals program. He was involved with the complete revision of an introductory course in Mechanical Engineering that he created and the writing of an entirely new undergraduate Mathematics curriculum when he was stricken with cancer. Mechanical Engineering Professor John Bassani said Abel was a "truly extraordinary educator who was completely committed to his students." He praised Abel's work in the Merck program, where elementary school teachers came to campus to learn about new ideas in science and engineering and what Abel called discovery-oriented labs. "The program was quite successful and I liked the way he spoke about it," Bassani said. "He spoke of his enthusiasm and talked about how the undergraduates in engineering would instruct the teachers. "He talked about how satisfying it was to see how happy school teachers were," he added. "Just one example of the kind of creative thinking he brought into education was when he designed a lab that used spaghetti to teach students about spring forces."