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Robert Stoll Obituary

STOLL
Robert Dennis, 85, professor emeritus of civil engineering at Columbia University, passed away on Saturday, September 17, 2016, following a long illness. He was a long-term resident of Demarest, NJ.
Professor Stoll was an internationally renowned expert in sediment acoustics. He published more than 60 papers and two books over a forty-year career at Columbia. He supervised many doctoral students who rose to high positions in industry, academia, and government. Stoll took particular pride in his association with Columbia's Lamont Earth Observatory in Piermont, New York where he was a visiting senior research scientist.
Stoll was born in Lincoln, Illinois on August 12,1931. He received his bachelors degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana in 1953. Starting in 1954, Stoll spent two years in French Morocco as part of the U.S. Navy's Civil Engineer Corps; he left active duty as a Lieutenant Junior Grade and the U.S. Navy Reserve, in 1965, as a Lieutenant. Professor Stoll received his doctorate in civil engineering from Columbia University in 1962 and then spent the remainder of his research and teaching career there. Always the craftsman, he built much of his experimental apparatus in his basement machine shop.
Professor Stoll is survived by his wife of 54 years, June (nee Rye), three children, Russell Stoll of Alexandria, VA, Kirsten Pelekis of Ridgewood, NJ, and Erica Onofrio of Fairfield, CT, and six grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 3:30 p.m., Saturday, October 1, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Tenafly, New Jersey with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers the family asks that you make a donation to the Alzheimer's Association (alz.org) in memory of Bob.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Record/Herald News on Sep. 25, 2016.

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Cliff Wattley

June 6, 2017

Professor Stoll was a professor of mine many years ago and I worked with him as the advisor to the student chapter of ASCE. He was an excellent presenter of the material, one with great clarity. He was also great fun as an ASCE advisor, willing to help with generating interesting program ides.

Mike Purdy

September 30, 2016

Bob Stoll was an inspiration to me during my earliest days in marine geophysics in the US in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Not only was he a scientist of great precision and rigor but he was an open collaborative colleague with a wealth of knowledge and experience that he was always so willing to share. Sadly we never published together. I wish we had. Mike Purdy Director, Lamont-Doherty Observatory 2000-2011; presently Executive Vice President for Research, Columbia University

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