Andrew Hasenfeld ’79

Scholar and activist Andrew Hasenfeld died Dec. 20, 1997, after suffering a fall. Andrew earned his BS in physics and was a member of the Film Society. He earned his PhD in biophysics from Berkeley in 1985.

At about the time he graduated from Princeton, Andrew was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Although his illness left him increasingly disabled, Andrew continued to participate in scientific pursuits, working on the Human Genome Project and projects involving magnetic resonance imaging. He was writing a physics book for popular audiences at the time of his death.

In 1994, he moved to Amherst, Mass., to be near the Quabbin Reservoir, a place he loved for its beauty. He was active in the Amherst chapter of Amnesty Intl. and succeeded in reducing the death sentence of a Russian prisoner. He campaigned against the death penalty in Massachusetts.

He also crusaded for the medical use of marijuana, which helped ease his own painful muscle spasms. An avid outdoorsman, Andrew worked to make Massachusetts's state parks more accessible to persons with disabilities.

The class sends its sympathy to Andrew's mother, Myrna, two sisters, and brother, and mourns the passing of a classmate who exemplified the best of scholarship and citizenship.