In Memoriam
James R. Hunt
Lawrence E. Peirano Professor of Environmental Engineering, Emeritus
UC Berkeley
1950-2017
Professor Emeritus James Robert Hunt, a faculty member in the University of California, Berkeley’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering for 33 years and an expert in groundwater transport of organic contaminants, died on February 20, 2017, after a brief illness. He was 66. Jim was born on July 9, 1950, and raised in Southern California. He graduated from Los Altos High School in Hacienda Heights, California, in 1968 and matriculated at the University of California, Irvine, in civil engineering, graduating summa cum laude in 1972. He then proceeded to obtain a M.S. in civil engineering at Stanford University in 1973. He specialized in hydrology and environmental engineering and after graduation joined Hydrocomp Inc., which was headed by a well-known Stanford hydrology professor Ray Linsley. At that time Hydrocomp was at the forefront of the use of numerical models for modeling hydrologic processes and Jim was part of this pioneering enterprise for two years before entering the Ph.D. program in environmental engineering science at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). At Caltech he honed his analytical skills, which became his signature throughout his academic career. He also embarked on the life-long promotion of environmental engineering. His seminal research on particle transport in porous media and filtration is still frequently referenced in research publications.
Jim joined the Berkeley faculty in 1980, right after graduation from Caltech, into what was at that time the sanitary engineering program in the Department of Civil Engineering. As a result of his background in environmental engineering Jim got involved early on in leading transformation of sanitary engineering into environmental engineering. He was one of the prime movers in the successful merger of historically separate graduate programs in fluid mechanics/hydrology and environmental quality, into what has become the top-ranked environmental engineering program in the country. In that context, he was also instrumental in helping recruit younger faculty with a keen eye on future developments and challenges in the field.
Jim was selfless in his service to the University. He repeatedly stepped in to teach courses where there were staffing gaps and, in general, took an altruistic approach that allowed younger colleagues to thrive in pursuing their research and teaching agendas. Jim was a devoted teacher and mentor, and was also well-known for keeping graduate students on their toes both in the classroom and in Ph.D. qualifying exams. He was widely admired for his fairness and selflessness, generous advice, and for being supportive and kind to students, staff, and faculty colleagues. “Jim was my faculty mentor and role model,” said David Sedlak, the Berkeley Water Center’s co-director in an email. “He taught me the importance of being a critical thinker, especially when it seems like the accepted approach to solving a problem doesn’t seem to be working. Leading by example, he also showed us the importance of selflessness and putting the interest of students first. We miss him.” Upon Hunt’s retirement in 2013, he gave a seminar to a standing-room-only crowd. His graduate students wore customized shirts with either a black and white photo of Hunt or one of his famous sayings, including “Keep it simple,” “You already know the answer,” and “Story time.”
Jim’s research focused on transport of contaminants in the environment, especially fate and transport of organic compounds, trace metals, radionuclides, and pathogenic organisms in groundwater, estuaries, and surface and subsurface soils. His former colleague Kent Udell noted, “Jim was a true scholar. He enjoyed the science and had a good sense of fruitful research directions. His work on identifying contaminant deposition histories from isotope distributions in the SF Bay off Alameda Island was brilliant. And he inspired his graduate students to conduct research at the highest level.” He was also actively engaged in interdisciplinary research and in developing ties across disciplines. He served as the director of the Berkeley Water Center and the Institute for Environmental Science and Engineering. He also served as associate editor of the American Geophysical Union’s flagship hydrology journal Water Resources Research and his contributions to the research community were recognized by Water Resources Research Editors' Citation for Excellence in Refereeing in 1991. He was appointed to the Lawrence E. Peirano Endowed Chair in 1999, which he held until his retirement in 2013.
In addition to his teaching and research, Jim held several active campus and University leadership roles. During 2003-2004 he served as the associate vice provost for academic planning and facilities chairing campus-level committees for the East Asian Library, Giannini Hall, and Le Conte Hall, among others. Later he served as a member of the Academic Senate’s divisional Committee on Budget and Interdepartmental Relations (2004-2007) and Divisional Council (1995-97 and 2008-2010), and also served on the University Committee on Academic Personnel from 2005 to 2008, as member, vice-chair, and chair.
Jim was a registered Professional Engineer in California and took active interest in the practical aspects of student training as reflected in the undergraduate curriculum in civil and environmental engineering. He became an accredited engineering program evaluator for the Engineering Accreditation Board (ABET) and continued working as a program evaluator after retirement from Berkeley, touring campuses and visiting faculty at universities across the country.
After retiring in 2013, Jim and his wife Kris moved to the East Coast, Beaufort, North Carolina, to be close to their daughter Dana, on the faculty of the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University, and her family. Jim continued working with students finishing at Berkeley and became professionally involved in the community, working on local water issues and serving on the planning commission in Beaufort. He took delight in spending time with his granddaughter Penelope and in being able to apply his practical hydrology knowledge to streams that flowed year around with the sea as his backyard —“no leaves to rake.” However, Dana noted that “Berkeley had a very special place in his heart.”
Nicholas Sitar
Roger Bales
2018
Jim joined the Berkeley faculty in 1980, right after graduation from Caltech, into what was at that time the sanitary engineering program in the Department of Civil Engineering. As a result of his background in environmental engineering Jim got involved early on in leading transformation of sanitary engineering into environmental engineering. He was one of the prime movers in the successful merger of historically separate graduate programs in fluid mechanics/hydrology and environmental quality, into what has become the top-ranked environmental engineering program in the country. In that context, he was also instrumental in helping recruit younger faculty with a keen eye on future developments and challenges in the field.
Jim was selfless in his service to the University. He repeatedly stepped in to teach courses where there were staffing gaps and, in general, took an altruistic approach that allowed younger colleagues to thrive in pursuing their research and teaching agendas. Jim was a devoted teacher and mentor, and was also well-known for keeping graduate students on their toes both in the classroom and in Ph.D. qualifying exams. He was widely admired for his fairness and selflessness, generous advice, and for being supportive and kind to students, staff, and faculty colleagues. “Jim was my faculty mentor and role model,” said David Sedlak, the Berkeley Water Center’s co-director in an email. “He taught me the importance of being a critical thinker, especially when it seems like the accepted approach to solving a problem doesn’t seem to be working. Leading by example, he also showed us the importance of selflessness and putting the interest of students first. We miss him.” Upon Hunt’s retirement in 2013, he gave a seminar to a standing-room-only crowd. His graduate students wore customized shirts with either a black and white photo of Hunt or one of his famous sayings, including “Keep it simple,” “You already know the answer,” and “Story time.”
Jim’s research focused on transport of contaminants in the environment, especially fate and transport of organic compounds, trace metals, radionuclides, and pathogenic organisms in groundwater, estuaries, and surface and subsurface soils. His former colleague Kent Udell noted, “Jim was a true scholar. He enjoyed the science and had a good sense of fruitful research directions. His work on identifying contaminant deposition histories from isotope distributions in the SF Bay off Alameda Island was brilliant. And he inspired his graduate students to conduct research at the highest level.” He was also actively engaged in interdisciplinary research and in developing ties across disciplines. He served as the director of the Berkeley Water Center and the Institute for Environmental Science and Engineering. He also served as associate editor of the American Geophysical Union’s flagship hydrology journal Water Resources Research and his contributions to the research community were recognized by Water Resources Research Editors' Citation for Excellence in Refereeing in 1991. He was appointed to the Lawrence E. Peirano Endowed Chair in 1999, which he held until his retirement in 2013.
In addition to his teaching and research, Jim held several active campus and University leadership roles. During 2003-2004 he served as the associate vice provost for academic planning and facilities chairing campus-level committees for the East Asian Library, Giannini Hall, and Le Conte Hall, among others. Later he served as a member of the Academic Senate’s divisional Committee on Budget and Interdepartmental Relations (2004-2007) and Divisional Council (1995-97 and 2008-2010), and also served on the University Committee on Academic Personnel from 2005 to 2008, as member, vice-chair, and chair.
Jim was a registered Professional Engineer in California and took active interest in the practical aspects of student training as reflected in the undergraduate curriculum in civil and environmental engineering. He became an accredited engineering program evaluator for the Engineering Accreditation Board (ABET) and continued working as a program evaluator after retirement from Berkeley, touring campuses and visiting faculty at universities across the country.
After retiring in 2013, Jim and his wife Kris moved to the East Coast, Beaufort, North Carolina, to be close to their daughter Dana, on the faculty of the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University, and her family. Jim continued working with students finishing at Berkeley and became professionally involved in the community, working on local water issues and serving on the planning commission in Beaufort. He took delight in spending time with his granddaughter Penelope and in being able to apply his practical hydrology knowledge to streams that flowed year around with the sea as his backyard —“no leaves to rake.” However, Dana noted that “Berkeley had a very special place in his heart.”
Nicholas Sitar
Roger Bales
2018
