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Frank Werner Maiwald
Frank Werner Maiwald
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Frank Maiwald Obituary
Frank pursued higher education at the University of Cologne, which set the foundation for his illustrious career in space and science research. He dedicated many years at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where his expertise and leadership were instrumental. Frank managed the development of the SBG-VSWIR instrument and had previously overseen the successful delivery of two instruments for the AMR-C program. His roles included serving as a technical group supervisor and contributing to various significant projects such as AMR/SWOT, COWVR, AMR/Jason 3, and HIFI. Frank's academic contributions were well-recognized, marked by numerous publications and accolades, including several prestigious JPL and NASA awards.
Beyond his professional life, Frank was a devoted husband to YeonJae Maiwald, sharing a deep and loving partnership for 25 years. Known for his perpetual smile and generous heart, Frank was a source of joy and support to those around him. He is survived by his spouse, YeonJae; his father, Bernhard Maiwald (Marianne); siblings, Ralph, Berndt, and Anja Maiwald; sisters-in-law, Soohee and Yunsu Chang; and many nieces and nephews.
Frank's life was a testament to the power of dedication, love, and kindness. His legacy will continue to inspire those who knew him and benefited from his work and warmth.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Hamid Javadi
September 22, 2024
Hamid Javadi
September 22, 2024
Hamid Javadi
September 22, 2024
He was a hard-working colleague with a smile on his face and with a warm heart.
Hyeji Lee
September 17, 2024
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Hyeji Lee
September 17, 2024
Hyeji Lee
September 17, 2024
July 2017 - We had a wonderful time at Lake Arrowhead.
Hyeji Lee
September 17, 2024
Hyeji Lee
September 17, 2024
Hyeji Lee
September 17, 2024
Uncle Frank was always a kind and warm-hearted person. I remember him coming every night to say goodnight and gently touching my head when I stayed with him and Auntie Yeonjae as a child. I was always proud of him, not just for his professional accomplishments, but also because he could fix and create anything he needed! When I visited him again as an adult, he offered me valuable advice about life and shared his wisdom. I wish I had spent more time with him. He will always hold a special place in my heart.
Donna & Doug
August 28, 2024
Donna & Doug
August 28, 2024
Donna & Doug
August 28, 2024
Memories from Franks 60th birthday celebration in June 2023
Donna and Doug
August 18, 2024
Donna and Doug
August 18, 2024
Donna and Doug
August 18, 2024
Donna and Doug
August 18, 2024
Donna and Doug
August 18, 2024
Donna & Doug Gerry
August 18, 2024
Frank and Yeonjae became dear friends having met them in about 2008. We have so many wonderful memories of shared birthdays and dinners, bike rides, adventures to Mt Wilson,star-gazing, NASA launches, bread-baking antics, neighborhood gatherings, and road trips. Frank was always smiling and hugging and cracking jokes. Yeonjae and Frank were warm and generous hosts, always making you feel welcome and special.
Frank was such a special friend. He lived his life with curiosity and kindness. His love for Yeonjae, ("My Love" he called her with his wonderful accent), shone strongly and he was extremely devoted to the life they shared together.
We miss him deeply. We send our Love to Yeonjae and their families.
Donna and Doug
August 18, 2024
Frank and Yeonjae became dear friends having met them in about 2008. We have so many wonderful memories of shared birthdays and dinners, bike rides, adventures to Mt Wilson, star-gazing, NASA launches, bread-baking antics, neighborhood walks gatherings, and road trips. Frank was always smiling and hugging and cracking jokes. Yeonjae and Frank were warm and generous hosts, always making you feel welcome and special.
Frank was such a special friend. He lived his life with curiosity and kindness. His love for Yeonjae, ("My Love" he called her with his wonderful accent), shone strongly and he was extremely devoted to the life they shared together.
We miss him deeply. We send our Love to Yeonjae and their families.
Doug & Donna Gerry
Alan Mazer
August 16, 2024
I just heard today of Frank's passing. Frank and I worked together on the MWR instrument many years ago now. I saw him last back in March or April when he stopped by my office to say hello, and I told him I was retiring. As always, he was so kind, told me that he had enjoyed working with me, and we agreed to have lunch, which unfortunately didn't happen. Frank was always such a joy to be with. He will be tremendously missed.
Bernhard Maiwald
August 6, 2024
Zum Gedenken an Dr. Frank Maiwald. Geboren am 24.06.1963, gestorben am 4.7.2024 in den USA.
In tiefer Trauer Dein Papa, seine Ehefrau YeonJea und Familien.
Wir werden dich, mein lieber Sohn nie vergessen. Du wirst immer in meinem Herzen sein. Dein dich liebender Papa.
Ich, Bernhard Maiwald, danke euch allen, die sich hier von meinem Sohn Frank verabschieden.
Randall Foehner
August 6, 2024
When I heard about Frank´s passing at a recent after-work social, i just turned and stared out the window. Focusing on mount Wilson, I let out a big sigh, and with a tear in my eye, I asked myself "why"....
Here is what i came up with... Frank was everything and more as reflected in this Obituary... and it seems like he left in the middle of everything but, Frank's astounding/astonishing human nature was obviously required for other more important things... like all the great ones we have witnessed leaving "early"...
I can only hope and pray that one day i can resume conversing with Frank.... His infectious smile and genuine / passionate interest in success will be dearly missed by all those who were blessed to have interacted with him...
Extending my heartfelt thoughts and prayers to the Maiwald family and friends...
Godspeed Frank...
R. Foehner
Bill Hatch
August 6, 2024
I first met Frank when he was a postdoc in 2001. Marty Herman suggested we meet, in part because my German was still pretty good at that time. We both worked on the Band 5 Instrument for Herschel HIFI. I was responsible for the detector and Frank was responsible for the local oscillator. While I was on travel in Germany for HIFI, I met Karl Jacobs from the University of Cologne. Karl was one of Frank´s Professors and he told me Frank was a great student and a great person! After delivery of the Band 5 Instrument, Frank was approached by several Universities requesting Frank to build them a copy of the Band 5 local oscillator. It worked that well! While working on HIFI we became very close friends. We were given a chance to work together again on Juno. Frank invited the whole Microwave Radiometer CogEs to his house to prepare for the Critical Design Review. He provided food and beverages while we collectively hammered out all the details for the CDR presentation. After delivery of the Juno Radiometer, he held another party for the entire Juno Radiometer Team. Not just the CogEs, System Engineers and Scientists, but also the Engineers performing the test, Machinists, Packaging Engineers, Fabrication Technicians and all the spouses. Frank believed it was truly a Team effort and everyone should be part of the celebration! A few years later, Frank asked me to be the Mission Assurance Manager for COWVR. How could I say no to have another chance to work with Frank!
Frank loved playing cards, especially UNO. I have very fond memories playing UNO with Frank, YeonJae and my wife Gena at our house and at Arrowhead. Frank was a good colleague and an even better friend. I will truly miss his no nonsense attitude, wry sense of humor and the twinkle in his eyes when he smiled or laughed. My heartfelt condolences to YeonJae and his entire family. He will truly be missed!
Gena and Bill Hatch
Kimberley Miner
August 5, 2024
Frank was a delight to work with and a joy to be around. His kindness and can-do attitude brought so much life to everyone around him and created a sense of teamwork and comradery. Whether at after-work parties or long, stressful meetings, he was a privilege to be around. I will miss him.
Erich Schlecht
August 5, 2024
Frank was one of the first people I worked with at JPL. He was both a great colleague and a warm friend. He and and and Yeonjae flew to Catalina for some great hiking. He always could make me laugh, I'm sharing a picture of Frank sharing a moment with my daughter when she was two years old.
My condolences and best wishes to Yeonjae.
Mirna L
August 5, 2024
Frank's warm and friendly smile will be remembered in the hearts of those who knew him... Personally, I will remember that...
Sending my Heartfelt Sympathy, wishing comfort and peace to the Maiwald Family in the days ahead... May Frank's memory live in your hearts forever.
Hannes Kraus
August 5, 2024
Frank was my hiring manager during the COVID times, just as I was nearing the end of my postdoc years at JPL. I remember this funny guy sitting down with me, happy for the opportunity to practice his German while grilling a prospective new group member. I ended up working for Frank until the group was reorganized about two years ago, and I was grateful to have him as a group leader, mentor, and friend.
Some of my happiest memories include BBQ sessions at Frank and YeonJae´s house, chance encounters in the hallways and labs during odd (supposedly non-working) hours, conspiratorial exchanges of homemade German bread, and lunches where we strategized about cool new technologies.
I was just about to fly out to our shared motherland, Germany, when Frank asked me (again) when we could join up for lunch, flashing his ubiquitous smile. I was chasing another supposedly all-important JPL task and asked to adjourn the lunch until after I came back. I shouldn´t have. I will never be able to have lunch with Frank ever again. I still can´t believe it.
Frank, you will be missed!
Gasia Bedrosian
July 30, 2024
Sending my deepest condolences to YeonJae and Frank's family. He was such a joy to be around and will be greatly missed.
I met Frank during my early years at JPL while working on the MWR receivers on JUNO. We spent many long nights and weekends working shifts where he shared his deep knowledge of microwave radiometry. I remember the day we discovered we both loved techno music. We laughed how random that was, and after that day would swap playlists often. I will miss Frank and his contagious smile.
Matt Bennett
July 29, 2024
My first memory of Frank was when I was a new hire at JPL. He would stop by my cubical and ask me how I was doing even though we weren't working on the same project. When I found out we were working together on SBG-VSWIR, I was thrilled! Frank brought so much joy and laughter to the daily grind. He was both brilliant and humble, and he showed so much care and affection for all of us. He was a hard worker and a great listener. I felt like there was no problem we couldn't solve together. There are so many wonderful qualities of his that I hope to emulate but I know I can never replace. He was one of a kind. I will miss him deeply.
Here is a screen grab of Frank participating in a dance off at a Christmas party in 2022. While most people were too shy to participate, Frank went two rounds!!
Rick Cofield
July 26, 2024
My first encounter with Frank was at a meeting he arranged here at JPL, to discuss HIFI optics...on Sept 10, 2001. Although one of the attendees, in Caltech F. remarked later that the following day brought dramatic changes to all our lives, I am struck by Frank's breadth of contacts and warm humanity that the meeting revealed. It was for me a great introduction to a gathering of experts from USC, the EU engineers and scientists on HIFI/Planck, Caltech, and JPL; and he kept up that personal and style in warm humanity through my developing collaborations with him afterward. I will miss Frank and I marvel at how many other lives he enriched.
Daniel Limonadi
July 25, 2024
Frank was a wonderful person to work with. I will miss his mix of easy smile, friendly demeanor and competent & diligent engineering. Most of all I will miss speaking German with him before or after SWOT and pre-phase A SBG meetings. What a loss.
Ami Kitiyakara
July 25, 2024
Ami Kitiyakara
July 25, 2024
Ami Kitiyakara
July 25, 2024
Ami Kitiyakara
July 25, 2024
Ami Kitiyakara
July 25, 2024
Frank and I have been colleagues and friends since he first arrived at JPL as a postdoc, around 1999. He and I were among a group of colleagues who often met in the JPL cafeteria for lunch. At that time his German accent was so thick that I couldn´t understand half of what he was saying. But with the cadence of his lunchtime conversation, along with the smile and twinkle in his eyes, I always knew when to smile and laugh. And I suspected he didn´t understand half of what I was saying, but he also seemed to know when to smile and laugh, so it all worked out.
Frank quickly picked up American English with its idioms and metaphors, and he has been known to freely mix these, along with translated German idioms and metaphors to hilarious effect.
My first professional partnership with Frank was on Juno, where he was the microwave radiometer (MWR) receiver lead and I was the instrument system engineer. On Juno, Frank was chastened by the challenge of managing cost growth on a JPL flight Project, a challenge that JPL continues to face to this day. However Frank learned from this experience, to become one of the top managers in the Instrument Division, having both deep technical knowledge and the skills and institutional understanding to successfully manage a flight instrument development.
We also partnered on the Jason-3 Advanced Microwave Radiometer (AMR) and the Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer (COWVR). Frank´s development of flight process qualification, assembly, and screening techniques for microwave integrated circuits; cost and schedule management processes; and improved tracking and management of JPL service center costs are just a few of his lasting contributions to the instrument division and to JPL.
Throughout this time, I developed a close personal relationship with Frank and Yeon Jae outside of work. Frank was always quick to reach out with invitations to activities and always made it clear how much he treasured his relationships with others. My fondest memories are with the bike rides, and the post-ride lunches in the garden with Frank and Yeon Jae. And we almost always parted with a warm and spontaneous hug.
As I contemplated life after JPL with some ambivalence, I had been buoyed by the thought of my continuing relationship with Frank, who has become one of my best friends. Loss of that possibility deeply saddens me. But we can and must keep Frank alive in our memories.
Timothy Koch
July 24, 2024
Frank went all in on anything he did! When he started amateur astronomy he had to assemble his own telescope and build his own automation.
Timothy Koch
July 24, 2024
Frank, Ami, and I concurred many a bike trail. One of the most rewarding was biking over Griffith park from Travel Town by the Zoo to see the Observatory.
Pia and Bernhard
July 23, 2024
Frank was a close friend of ours althouth he lived far away from us.
Pia got to know him durting his studies in Cologne. She spent lots of hours with him, having fun going out for dancing, sharing a close friendship. Bernhard got to know him some months before Frank moved to California. Immediatly, they were good friends.
We both had the special honor to celebrate Frank`s & YeonJae`s wedding with them and their families in South Korea. Our kids Katharina and Lena got to know Frank and YeonJae during our trip to California in 2017. We had so much fun with YeonJae and him, being their guests in their house. We`ll never forget the barbecue with grilled s'mores sandwishes.
We are so thankful and glad that we had the chance to share a day with Frank (and YeonJae and her sister) this April in Heidelberg. We consider this visit as a precious gift!
We remember Frank as a smiling, positive thinking guy, good-hearted, loving YeonJae from the bottom of his heard, smart, dedicated to physics - a very good friend!
Rest in peace, Frank!
God may protect YeonJae and the related family members!
Frank, großartiger Freund, ruhe in Frieden! Wir sind sehr traurig!
Bernhard, Pia, Katharina und Lena
Marc Walch
July 18, 2024
Marc Walch
July 18, 2024
Marc Walch
July 18, 2024
Florinda and I send our condolences to Yeonjae, to her family, and to Frank´s family.
Frank was a close neighbor and a very good friend; we would carpool to/from work nearly every workday until my retirement.
Further, Frank was full of happiness, laughter, positivity, and kindness. As such, he touched the lives of many and left an indelible mark on the hearts of everyone he met.
A true friend, Frank was always there to lend a helping hand or a listening ear. His many passions brought joy to us and to those around him. His dedication to friendships made a positive impact on us and on many others.
He will be deeply missed by us and by all who had the privilege to know him.
Rest in peace, Frank. Memories of you will live on in the hearts of all who loved you.
Donald Rudy
July 17, 2024
Our condolences to YeonJae and the families. Frank was a great guy and great friend. We had lots of great times together and I loved his dry sense of humor. He will be sorely missed.
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