In Memoriam

Louis A. Povinelli ’59 PhD, Westlake, Ohio, May 17, 2026, at age 94. An authority on jet engine and rocket propulsion systems, Povinelli enjoyed a 60-year career at the NASA Lewis Research Center (now Glenn Research Center) in Cleveland. His early work on rocket propellants contributed to the success of the Apollo 11 lunar landing in 1969. At Lewis, Povinelli led a team of 125 scientists in research on air-breathing propulsion programs. The work advanced rocket propulsion and helped develop aircraft engines powerful enough to enable travel at hypersonic and supersonic speeds. Povinelli’s research yielded more than 140 publications and presentations and two U.S. pat- ents. During the Kennedy administration Povinelli served in the Office of Science and Technology and helped establish U.S. nuclear energy policy. Povinelli received the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal and was recognized with the 2008 Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Senior Professional, a top honor for civilian federal employees. A marathoner, Povinelli raced for over 50 years, winning his age group into his late 80s. He is survived by his wife, Jean Meredith Povinelli ’60 PhD; children Michael, Kathleen, Maureen, Karen and Michelle; and grandchildren Sarah, Andrew, Ellie, Mia, Bridget, Erie and July. He was pre- ceded in death by two of his children, Maryanne and Laura. 

Mark A. Ratner ’69 PhD, Glenview, Ill., May 10, 2026, at age 83. The Lawrence B. Dumas Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Chemistry in Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Ratner was widely recognized as the “father of molecular electronics.” In the 1970s he demonstrated for the first time that individual molecules could carry an electric current, a discovery that laid the groundwork for designing molecular-scale circuits and devices that could power molecular computers and quantum devices. Ratner served on the Northwestern faculty for more than 45 years and taught general chemistry to roughly 5,000 students. He was named to the Associated Student Government’s Faculty Honor Roll 11 times. The Mark and Nancy Ratner Professorship, now held by Emily Weiss ’02 MS, ’05 PhD, honors his dedication to undergraduate learning. Ratner was a driving force behind the creation and growth of Northwestern’s International Institute for Nanotechnology and the Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, and he served as the founding co-director of what is now the Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy. Ratner is survived by his wife, Nancy; children Stacy Ratner ’09 CERT, ’18 MBA and Dan; three brothers, Chuck, Jim and Ron; and two grandchildren.  

David Jackson ’82 MS, Washington, D.C., April 22, 2026, at age 66. A White House correspondent for USA Today and The Dallas Morning News, Jackson was a national politics reporter, covering every president from Bill Clinton to Donald Trump. Jackson began his 44-year career as a sports reporter for his hometown paper, The Times and Democrat, in Orangeburg, S.C. After reporting stints in Georgia and Florida, he covered local government for The Dallas Morning News. He later transferred to the paper’s Washington, D.C., bureau, where he reported on legal proceedings and the courts. His interview with the then up-and-coming attorney John Roberts on the Morning News’ weekly TV show became one of the only videos of Roberts discussing legal issues before his nomination to become chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2005 Jackson joined USA Today’s White House team. Shortly before Barack Obama ’06 H took office in 2009, Jackson interviewed him at Obama’s inaugural headquarters. Jackson also served as president of the White House Correspondents’ Association and presided over the annual dinner in 2011. He retired in 2025. He is survived by two brothers, James and Dwight; and a nephew and niece. 

Photo Credit: USA Today 

Sue Pooler Wagner ’64 MA, Reno, Nev., March 17, 2026, at age 86. A pioneer in Nevada politics, Wagner never lost an election in her 20-year career. After stints as an educator and journalist, she was elected to the Nevada Assembly in 1974. Starting in 1980 she spent nearly a decade in the Nevada State Senate, including as chair of the Judiciary Committee. In 1991 she became the first woman in the state to be elected lieutenant governor. A Republican, she often broke party lines on social issues. She backed legislative efforts that supported reproductive rights, funded domestic violence shelters and enacted reforms in the state’s prison system. Wagner was inducted into the Nevada Senate Hall of Fame and the Nevada Women’s Fund Hall of Fame. She considered running for governor but said that injuries she sustained in a 1990 plane crash prevented her from pursuing further political ambitions. Outside of politics, she worked for the Desert Research Institute, where she established an endowment in honor of her late husband, Peter, who had worked at the institute as an atmospheric scientist before he died in a 1980 plane crash. Sue later expanded the endowment’s reach by creating the Peter B. Wagner Memorial Award for Women in Atmospheric Sciences in 1998. She is survived by a son, Kirk; a daughter, Kristina; four grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. 

Photo Credit: Courtesy of DRI  

Ronald B. Joseph ’67, ’70 MD, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Jan. 20, 2026, at age 81. A gifted athlete and skilled surgeon, Joseph attended Northwestern on a track and field scholarship and placed third in the long jump at the 1964 Big Ten Championships. He and his sister, Vivian, were also competitive figure skaters; they won a bronze medal in pairs figure skating at the 1964 Winter Olympics. Joseph then studied medicine at Northwestern and the Mayo Clinic to become an orthopedic surgeon, focusing on surgery of the shoulder, hand and wrist. He pioneered arthroscopic shoulder repair. Joseph is survived by his wife, Krista; a daughter, Ali; a son, Jeremy; and stepchildren Adele and Billy. His stepson Charlie died in 2016. 

Photo Credit: US Figure Skating 

Donald Staples ’55, ’67 PhD, Denton, Texas, Jan. 19, 2026, at age 91. One of the first people in the U.S. to earn a doctorate in film, Staples helped transform film studies into an academic discipline. A member of the U.S. Navy ROTC as an undergraduate, Staples landed his first film job while serving as a Navy lieutenant in the Caribbean. He helped with the production of John Huston’s 1957 film Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison by lending his Navy ship and crew to film shoots. After finishing his doctorate, Staples taught at six universities over 45 years, including New York University, where he created the doctoral program in cinema studies. He also chaired the radio, TV and film department at the University of North Texas from 1979 until his retirement in 2004. Staples was a film, TV and radio actor and director, an Oscar predictor for CBS and PBS, and a critic for the country’s oldest film publication, Films in Review. He served as president of both the Society for Cinema and Media Studies and the University Film and Video Association. He is survived by his wife, Kristen; a sister, Peggy; children Doug, Dan, Julie and Susan; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. 

Radha Subramanyam ’92  MA, ’96  PhD, New York City, Jan.  5, 2026, at age 55. Born and raised in New Delhi, Subramanyam moved to the U.S. to attend Northwestern, where she earned both a master’s degree and a doctorate in radio/television/film. She taught at Vassar College and New York University before transitioning into media research. She worked at MTV Networks, Yahoo, Nielsen and iHeartMedia, where she was president of insights, research and data analytics. She joined the CBS Television Network in 2017 and was promoted within 18 months to chief research and analytics officer for CBS Corp. and president of CBS Vision. She oversaw day-to-day research operations for CBS, including audience measurement, program and ad analytics, and marketing research. Subramanyam is survived by her husband, Joseph Walser ’97 PhD, and children Tara and River. 

Photo Credit: Michele Crowe/CBS