John David Schopp *54

Body

JOHN DAVID SCHOPP 54, professor of astronomy at San Diego State Univ., died Nov. 9, 1988, at KaiserPermanente Hospital. He had sustained a severe heart attack and had been in a coma for two weeks before his death at age 62.

Born in St. Joseph, Mo., he earned his undergraduate degree at Northwestern Univ. in 1949 and his Ph.D. in astronomy at Princeton in 1954. In 1962 he joined the faculty of San Diego State, where he remained until his death. During his tenure he also held for ten years the tide of associate dean of the College of Sciences. He enjoyed the warm friendship and approbation of other faculty members and students alike and was referred to by a colleague as "the most popular professor among the students in the history of this department." His high standards of teaching and research were honored on several occasions and earned him distinction as a scientist as well as respect and affection as a pedagogue. Professor Schopp is survived by his widow, Fay, and two daughters.

The Graduate Alumni

No responses yet

Join the conversation

Plain text

Full name and Princeton affiliation (if applicable) are required for all published comments. For more information, view our commenting policy. Responses are limited to 500 words for online and 250 words for print consideration.

Paw in print

Image
The cover of PAW’s November 2025 issue, featuring a photo of a space probe and the headline "Made in Princeton."
The Latest Issue

November 2025

NASA’s new IMAP mission, London’s big data detective, AI challenges in the classroom.