JARED L. COHON (1947-2024)

BY CHRIS HENDRICKSON AND DAVID DZOMBAK

JARED LEIGH COHON, president emeritus of Carnegie Mellon University and an esteemed leader in the civil and environmental engineering community, died peacefully on March 16, 2024.¹

Jerry was born Oct. 7, 1947, in Beachwood, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, to Delbert and Ruth Cohon. All four of his grandparents took part in the great Jewish peasant migration from Poland and Russia and settled in Canton, Ohio. He was raised in Cleveland through high school. At age 7, he met his future wife and the love of his life, Maureen “Bunny” Nathanson, who was with him at his passing. He is survived by his daughter, Hallie Donner (Joshua); grandsons Nathan and Solomon; sisters Cindy Lowenkamp and Sheila Nathanson; and a loving extended family (see picture).

He undertook undergraduate studies in civil engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. After his sophomore year, he married Bunny and became a serious student. As he put it, “Thank God for Bunny. She has had a lasting impact on every aspect of my life.”² After completing his B.S. in civil engineering in 1969, he pursued graduate studies in civil engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His doctoral research focused on multiobjective optimization in water resources planning. He completed his Ph.D. in 1973.

After graduation from MIT, he joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins University from 1973 to 1992. From 1977-78, he took a one-year leave of absence to work as an energy and environment legislative assistant for U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He accepted several administrative appointments at Johns Hopkins, eventually serving as vice provost for research from 1986-92. In 1992, he moved to Yale University as dean of the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Throughout his academic research career, Jerry specialized in water resource systems. He is particularly known for his pioneering work on multiobjective optimization and planning for water systems and infrastructure, including early work on enhancing system resiliency. He demonstrated the usefulness of these tools for a wide range of applications, including reservoir operation, hydroelectric power plant operation, EMS/fire station location, power plant and hazardous waste landfill siting, transportation network optimization, and water treatment plant design. He pursued applications in China, India, and the United States. His 1978 book Multiobjective Programming and Planning (republished in 2004, Dover Publications) is a classic and widely used text.

For 16 years (1997-2013) Jerry served as the eighth president of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). His presidency was a resounding success, and CMU grew in stature as one of the preeminent institutions of higher education in the world. Jerry was a staunch advocate for access and support for all people of talent. Under his leadership, CMU established programs and partnerships in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. At the same time, he strengthened and expanded CMU’s commercialization and technology transfer activities, leading to a much-needed boost for the regional economy. As CMU President Farnam Jahanian stated in reflecting on Jerry’s impact: “Jerry was widely respected and immensely beloved, and his leadership and scholarship have shaped the trajectories of an untold number of Tartans [CMU students] over the years. His brilliant mind, unyielding energy, and unimpeachable integrity have made our institution — and our society — better in innumerable ways.”³ After leaving the presidency, Jerry continued to serve as a university professor in civil and environmental engineering and in engineering and public policy at CMU and to give his time to numerous community and professional service activities.

Jerry’s public service was especially notable. For the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, he chaired committees on Techniques for Estimating Probabilities of Extreme Floods (1985-87), Measuring and Improving Infrastructure Performance (1993-96), Health, Environmental, and Other External Costs and Benefits of Energy Production and Consumption (2008-10), Fuel Economy of Light-Duty Vehicles, Phase 2 (2012-15), and Growth of Computer Science Undergraduate Enrollments (co-chair 2016-18). He was a member and chair of the NRC Board on Energy and Environmental Systems (2015-23). As a presidential appointee, he was member and chair of the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (1995-2002). Again as a presidential appointee, he was a member of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council (2002-11). He co-chaired the DOE Commission to Review and Evaluate the National Energy Laboratories (2013-14).

He also held numerous other elected and appointed professional and community leadership positions. Among those, he was elected chair of the Executive Committee of the Association of American Universities and president of the Connecticut Academy of Science (1997). He gave generously of his time for a wide range of nonprofit endeavors, particularly in Western Pennsylvania. He was a member of dozens of civic and corporate boards.

Jerry received many professional recognitions during his career. He was an American Association for the Advancement of Science fellow, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a diplomate of the American Society of Water Resources Engineers, and a distinguished member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He received the National Engineering Award (American Association of Engineering Societies, 2011), the Metcalf Award (Engineers Society of Western Pennsylvania, 2006), the Pittsburgher of the Year Award (Pittsburgh Magazine, 2001), and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (2018). In 2014 CMU dedicated the Jared L. Cohon University Center building in his honor. He received honorary degrees from CMU, the Korean Advanced Institute for Science and Technology, and the University of Pittsburgh.

Jerry had an outstanding ability to connect with people and motivate groups. He demonstrated these skills across his broad interests and in all aspects of his life. He played defensive lineman for his high school football team. He was also a drummer. While at Johns Hopkins he played in a student-faculty rock band. As he said, “The drummer was really bad but they carried me.”⁴

Jerry was a great engineer, a brilliant and caring man, and a dedicated and skilled leader of higher education. He was kind to all and had a knack for connecting with a broad range of people. He will be greatly missed at CMU, in the Pittsburgh region, and at the National Academies.

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¹ This tribute draws on: Cohon J. 2013. A Life’s Recounting in the Subject’s Own Words. Pittsburgh Quarterly (reprinted May 2024); Cohon JL. 2023. Curriculum Vitae. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University; Federoff S, Henninger M. 2024. Remembering Jared Cohon: A Transformative Leader of Carnegie Mellon. Online at https://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/ 2024/march/remembering-jared-cohon-a-transformative-leader-at-carnegie-mellon-university; Jahmanian F. 2024. Loss of Beloved CMU Leader and Community Member. Email to the campus community, March 28; and Velucci J. 2024. Former CMU President Jared Cohon Dies at 76. Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.
² Cohon J. 2013. A Life’s Recounting in the Subject’s Own Words. Pittsburgh Quarterly (reprinted May 2024).
³ Jahmanian, F. 2024. Loss of Beloved CMU Leader and Community Member. Email to the campus community, March 28.
⁴ Federoff S, Henninger M. 2024. Remembering Jared Cohon: A Transformative Leader of Carnegie Mellon. Online at https://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/ 2024/march/remembering-jared-cohon-a-transformative-leader-at-carnegie-mellon-university.