In Memoriam

Dowlatram Somrah ME'94

Dowlatram Somrah ME'94 passed away on January 6, 2022 from cancer.

Thomas Brewster Kass A'58

Salt Lake City, Utah—Thomas Brewster Kass A'58,  85, passed from this life early Tuesday morning July 26, 2022. To read his obituary, please click here.

Julius J. Heller CE'52

Julius J. Heller CE'52 of Armonk, NY, formerly of Yonkers, died peacefully on August 24, 2022 at home at the age of 100. Julius was born on October 11, 1921 to Julius and Anna Heller in Perth Amboy, NJ. He was a graduate of Cooper Union in New York City. To read his obituary, please click here.

Maurice Kanbar - Established the Maurice Kanbar Center for Biomedical Engineering at Cooper Union

Inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Maurice Kanbar, 93, who established the Maurice Kanbar Center for Biomedical Engineering at The Cooper Union, died peacefully of natural causes in San Francisco on August 20, 2022, surrounded by family and loved ones. To read his obituary, please click here.

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.