Jack East (1947-2024): In Memoriam

Jack East, alumnus and research scientist emeritus, passed away June 2, 2024 at the age of 77. During his 40 years as a student and faculty member in the department, Dr. East provided invaluable contributions to a wide range of research advancements, while quietly bringing people together.

East received his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in Electrical Engineering at the University of Michigan in 1969, 1970, and 1986, respectively. His professional tenure in the department began in 1974 when he was hired as a senior research associate. In 1979 he was promoted to Assistant Research Scientist, and by 1993 he was promoted to Research Scientist.

He studied under George Haddad, Robert J. Hiller Professor Emeritus and former long-time Department Chair, and then spent his career furthering their partnership.

“​​Jack was a great student, colleague and friend,” said Haddad. “I served as chair of his PhD committee and I was so impressed by his work ethic that I hired him as a research scientist. He worked with me until my own retirement, and during that time he helped prepare several successful multi-million dollar research proposals, supervise more than 50 PhD students, publish many journal articles, and make many conference presentations here and abroad. I will miss him and so will many of his colleagues.”

Jack was a great student, colleague and friend.

George Haddad, Robert J. Hiller Professor Emeritus and former Department Chair

Dr. East’s research interests included fabrication, design and analysis of microwave solid-state devices and circuits; modeling of transport and interfaces in semiconductors; microwave and millimeter-wave measurements; design and fabrication of terahertz structures; numerical modeling; and analysis and optimization of digital communications systems.

His research in microwave and millimeter wave semiconductor devices contributed to semiconductor devices that pushed the limits of their performance at the time, including a metal semiconductor field effect transistor with the highest known maximum oscillation frequency. He also explored low-power devices for mobile communications and computing to maximize battery life. 

East’s office was close to fellow ECE faculty who focused on semiconductors, materials, and related research, including Prof. Fred Terry.

“I first met Jack in late August, 1985,” recalled Terry, “when I was a brand new assistant professor sitting dazed and confused in my office on the third floor of East Engineering. The first Friday I was there, Jack came into the office at about 4 PM and declared that we were going to the Brown Jug. There I met a wide variety of personalities both in the department and outside the University. Jack had an incredible knack for making people in the department feel welcome and I quickly learned that he had been doing this since his grad school days.”

“Jack was an expert on microwave semiconductor devices, device modeling, and microwave device measurements. He had wide technical expertise and a very keen mind and was always willing to listen and offer technical advice. At one point early in my career, I had a problem that required solution of a multi-parameter nonlinear regression problem. This was early enough that just dropping it into MATLAB or Mathematica was not an option. I discussed the problem with Jack and he immediately pointed me to the right reference that concisely discussed options and how to code them. This helped me with a publication that was pivotal in securing tenure.”

Jack had an incredible knack for making people in the department feel welcome. He had wide technical expertise and a very keen mind and was always willing to listen and offer technical advice.

Prof. Fred Terry

Jack met his wife Mary at Michigan; she was a surgery resident at the time and they married in 1981. Jack now had a partner in helping others feel welcome.

“Jack and Mary would often host dinners at their home for collections of friends,” said Terry. “They both had a knack for getting along with some of the more powerful personalities and making them seem more human.”

Jack’s hospitable nature extended to Michigan’s students. In addition to supporting all the students who were members of Haddad’s research group, East served as co-chair on the dissertation committees of 19 PhD students. He contributed to the education of many more as a lecturer for the courses, Microwave Semiconductor Devices, Solid State Device Fabrication Laboratory, and Microwave Circuits.

He published 5 book chapters and more than 70 papers in refereed journals on device physics, numerical analysis of semiconductor structures, RF characterization, and communications. He served as an external reviewer for several major journals in his field, as Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology and IEEE Microwave Magazine, and he served as Chair for the 2000 International Conference on Space Terahertz Technology.

During his career, East received the EECS Outstanding Achievement Award and the CoE Outstanding Research Scientist Award.

We learned more about East’s non-engineering interests from Terry, who shared, “Jack was a master carpenter. He brought his engineering skills and passion to making fine furniture. At my last meeting with Jack before his accident, he showed me a beautiful cherry rocking chair that he had recently made. Jack was an outstanding scholar, carpenter, and friend. He will be greatly missed.”

After he officially retired in 2007, East went right back to work as a member of the $20M, 10-year Center for Objective Microelectronics and Biomimetic Advanced Technology (COMBAT), directed by Kamal Sarabandi, Fawwaz T. Ulaby Distinguished University Professor and Rufus S. Teesdale Professor of Engineering. East received the Ted Kennedy Family Faculty Team Excellence Award along with seven colleagues in 2018 for their synergistic contributions to COMBAT; among his responsibilities was leading a team of students who fabricated antennas in the Lurie Nanofabrication Facility.

Jack was a knowledgeable and kind engineer, always willing to lend a helping hand to fellow students and researchers.

Kamal Sarabandi, Fawwaz T. Ulaby Distinguished University Professor

Sarabandi shared the following, “It is with a heavy heart that I write about Jack. I’ve known him for nearly 40 years, ever since my days as a graduate student in the Radiation Lab. He worked in the Microwave lab, and our paths crossed frequently as we shared access to a newly acquired HP network analyzer. Jack was a knowledgeable and kind engineer, always willing to lend a helping hand to fellow students and researchers.”

“Our collaboration deepened in 2007 when I began preparing a center proposal for the Army Research Laboratory. Over the next decade, Jack played a pivotal role in numerous projects within this center. He was consistently dependable and supportive, not only to me but also to my graduate students who were involved in these endeavors. His expertise in the measurement and characterization of millimeter-wave circuits and components proved invaluable to our work.”

“The loss of Jack is deeply felt; he was not only a colleague but also a friend whom I greatly admired. His absence leaves a void that will be keenly felt by all who had the privilege of knowing him.”

The Department pays tribute to Dr. Jack East for his many contributions to its research and educational mission. His quiet, faithful, and welcoming presence will be deeply missed.

Obituary