The University Record, March 11, 1997
Obituaries
Chai Yeh
Chai Yeh, professor emeritus of electrical and computer engineering, died Feb. 15 in Davis, Calif. He was 85.
A pioneering researcher in the fields of photonics, fiberoptics and solid-state electronics, Yeh was a member of the faculty for 20 years.
Yeh came to Ann Arbor in 1956 as a research engineer at Willow Run Laboratories. In 1961, he joined the faculty as an associate professor of electrical engineering and was promoted to professor in 1964.
During his long and productive career, Yeh published more than 100 papers in scholarly journals and symposium proceedings on radio electronics, microwave electronics, solid-state electronics and opto-electronics. After his retirement in 1981, Yeh published two books, Handbook on Fiber Optics (1990) and Applied Photonics (1994).
Before joining the U-M, Yeh was a visiting professor at the University of Kansas in 1948-1956. He was a research engineer at the Radio Research Institute and professor at the Southwestern Associated University in Kumming, China, in 1936-1945 and a professor at Tsinghua University in Peking, China, in 1945-1947. A native of China, he received his B.S. in electrical engineering from Chekiang University in 1932, his M.S. in 1934 and his D.Sc. in 1936 from Harvard University.
Yeh was a member of the first Distinguished Chinese-American Scholars Delegation to visit China in 1972 and returned many times to serve as an adviser to Tsinghua University and Chekiang University. He was appointed an honorary professor of the Shanghai University of Science and Technology in 1980.
He was a member of several professional and honorary societies, including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu and Sigma Xi.
Yeh is survived by his wife, Ida, of Davis, Calif.; two sons and their wives, Yin and Elizabeth Tang Yeh of Davis, Calif., and Jen and Susan Fillin-Yeh of Portland, Ore.; a sister, Jing Guo Yeh of Ann Arbor; three granddaughters, two great-grandchildren and one nephew.
A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. on March 24 in the East Room, Pierpont Commons.
Arthur F. Southwick
Arthur F. Southwick, professor emeritus of health services management and policy at the School of Public Health and professor emeritus of business law at the Business School, died in Ann Arbor March 3. He was 73.
“Two hallmarks of Prof. Southwick’s career were his concern for students and his emphasis on high-quality research,” the Regents said when he retired in 1990. “His concern for students was reflected in his thorough preparation, lively classroom coverage of complex legal issues, and long hours devoted to providing students with individual feedback on their examinations and research assignments.
“His emphasis on high-quality research was indicative of his interest in students, in that he firmly believed that research provides the foundation for excellence in teaching.”
Author of the book The Law of Hospital and Health Care Administration and of numerous articles and book chapters, Southwick’s work is frequently cited in research journals and court decisions. It also has had a significant influence on the development of hospital and health care law.
Southwick graduated in 1947 from the College of Wooster with a B.A. He received an
M.B.A from the Business School in 1950 and a J.D. from the Law School in 1951.
Except for a visiting professorship in 1985 at the Harvard University School of Public Health, Southwick served virtually his entire academic career at U-M. He joined the faculty as an assistant professor in 1956, was promoted to associate professor in 1961 and to professor in 1966.
Southwick served on the boards of editors of the American Journal of Law and Medicine and on the editorial advisory board of Issues in Health Care Technology and Hospital Risk Control. He also was a charter member of the Society of Hospital Attorneys of the American Hospital Association.
Southwick is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; daughters, Nancy Rago of Falmouth, Mass., Joanne Jellison of Holland, Mich., and Leslie Wilhelm of Plymouth; a brother, Charles, of Boulder, Colo., and seven grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Arthur F. Southwick Family Book Fund, the College of Wooster, Wooster, OH 44691.
