Alan J. Saalfeld

Alan J. Saalfeld, age 78, of Chicago, Illinois, passed away at his home in Columbus, Ohio on Monday June 17, 2024.

Alan graduated from Lane Technical College Prep High and Loyola University in Chicago, graduated from University of California, Berkeley, completed several years of graduate studies at University of Notre Dame, and graduated from University of Maryland.

He was a Volunteer with the Peace Corps in Peru for two terms, as a Visiting Professor of Mathematics, teaching graduate students at The Catholic University, Lima, Peru.

Alan worked for more than fifteen years at the U. S. Census Bureau, both in the Statistical Methods Division and International Programs Center, which led him to travel to many countries in Africa and South America, and in the Statistical Research Division as a Principal Researcher.

He was a faculty member of Ohio State University for nearly three decades. He joined Ohio State’s Department of Geodetic Science in 1993, and retired from the School of Earth Sciences in 2019. In addition to teaching many classes and serving on many committees, Alan was the Graduate Studies Chair for the Geodetic Science program for more than half his career at OSU.

Alan is survived by his wife Carrie, sons Matt and David, daughter-in-law Rachel Poe, and many other family members. They, and many others whose lives he touched will miss him greatly. We will be brewing espresso forever in his memory and honor.