In Memoriam - Lars H. Hellberg
The program (PDF) from
Lars' memorial service,
February 19, 2011.
Lars Hellberg
(1930 - 2011)
Active SDSU faculty: 1956-1992 (and beyond)
B.S. '51 Northwestern (Robert Burwell)
Ph.D. '58 UCLA (Thomas L. Jacobs) organic chemist
Eat your heart out, Barry Sharpless: Lars is still easily the most widely recognized organic chemist in the greater San Diego area. Just try asking random people at the next Padres' game.
A one-time northwest Chicago rough kid (once having to write "I will not throw snowballs" 103 times after attacking a school bus with his gang), Lars got his Ph.D. at UCLA, where he was a teaching assistant for Bill Richardson.
Lars officially retired a few years back, but still kept a desk in the department and occasionally emailed us to ask after a book that someone has taken from his collection. He was a founding member of the chemistry faculty at the graduate campus of the Tijuana Technological Institute, retiring in 2007.