Michael Nieto

Michael Martin Nieto of Los Alamos, NM passed away on Saturday, June 8th. He was 73. Michael was born in Los Angeles, CA in 1940 and made the decision at age 10 to become a physicist. He graduated from Mt. Carmel High School in 1957, earned his Bachelor's Degree from the University of California - Riverside in 1961, and received his Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell University in 1966. He began his employment with Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1972. During his career he received numerous accolades, including the Alexander von Humboldt Senior Research Award in 1994, a Distinguished Alumnus Award from UCR in 1999, and the Star of Carmel Award in 2010. He retired as a Fellow of LANL in April of 2011. Michael was an avid soccer fan, having both played and refereed the sport in his younger years. His favorite MLS team was the Los Angeles Galaxy. He loved to travel the world, and among his favorite destinations were India, Austrailia, and South America. He always won at Trivial Pursuit, and of course to those who knew him best, he was never wrong. Michael is preceded in death by his father, Jose Nieto; his mother, Delphine Nieto; his sister, Connie Nieto; his father-in-law, Viktor Henriksen; his mother-in-law, Gudrun Henriksen; his sister-in-law, Inge Henriksen; and his nephew, Lars Henriksen. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Merete; his daughter and son-in-law, Katrina & Leon Trujillo of Albuquerque, NM; his son and daughter-in-law, Mikkel & Amy Nieto of Portland, OR; his three grandchildren, Ashley, Taylor, & Lucas; his sister, Dee Marie Nieto of Beverly Hills, CA; his brother-in-law, Paul Sandorff of Seal Beach, CA; his brother-in-law, Peter Henriksen of Nykøbing S., Denmark; his nephew Jesper Henriksen of Copenhagen, Denmark; his niece, Dorte Henriksen of Copenhagen, Denmark; his great-nephew, Alexander Henriksen of Copenhagen, Denmark; and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the United Way.