John Landis, a pioneer in the peaceful uses of atomic energy, died March 16, 2013. He was 95.
Landis graduated summa cum laude in 1939 from Lafayette. After serving in the Navy he studied physics at the Princeton graduate school, but did not complete a degree. In 1950, he joined the Atomic Energy Commission and helped design nuclear power plants.
In 1953, Landis joined the Atomic Energy Division of the Babcock & Wilcox Co., and became head of its center for nuclear research. He contributed to the design of the Indian Point, N.Y., nuclear power station. In 1968, he joined Gulf General Atomic Co. of San Diego, and in 1971 became its president.
From 1975 until he retired in 1993, Landis was a senior vice president and director of Stone & Webster Engineering Corp. in Boston. He was also president of Stone & Webster International. In 1996, he was named an “international nuclear statesman” when he received the American Nuclear Society’s Henry DeWolf Smyth (’18 *21) Award.
Landis was predeceased by Muriel, his wife of 61 years, in 2002. He is survived by two daughters, four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.