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UC Berkeley Professor Emeritus Ted Crossman dies

Special to the Daily Planet
Monday February 12, 2001

Professor Emeritus Edward Robert Francis Ward (“Ted”) Crossman, of the College of Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, died Monday, February 5th, 2001.  

Conceding a brief battle with Lymphoma, he died at home. Although he retired in 1987, he maintained an office in Etcheverry Hall until the time of his death, where he continued to meet with graduate students.  

Professor Crossman was a pioneer in the field of human performance and skill, sociotechnical systems, organization, and interactive computer systems, and conducted early research in pilot aircraft dynamics and human factors. After earning his Ph.D. in Engineering Production from Birmingham University in 1956, he went on to teach at both Oxford and Reading Universities in England. He joined the Berkeley faculty in 1964, when he was invited to begin a program in Applied Psychology and Human Factors in Engineering. Emigrating here with his wife and four children, he arrived just in time to witness the Free Speech Movement and blossoming of the Counter Cultural Phenomenon. He served as department chair for one year, 1969-1970, resigning in protest over the administration’s handling of the student demonstrations. He became a naturalized citizen in 1976.  

Born September 25, 1925 in Hambrooke, Bristol, England, Crossman served with the Royal Air Force during World War Two. He was in Hiroshima, Japan immediately after the bombing.  

An early radio and computer aficionado, tinkerer and inventor, Crossman was working on developing a special foam rubber that he felt could be used to build the most comfortable bed.  

Preceded in death by his oldest son, Francis Hedley Danvers Crossman, and his only daughter, Lucia Edna Alice Crossman, he is survived by two sons and four grandchildren.  

A memorial service for Professor Crossman will be held Saturday, February 17th, at 1:00 p.m. at the Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St. at Walnut, Berkeley.  

Donations may be made in his honor to the Berkeley Free Clinic.