In Memoriam: Ms. Bonnie Diaz
We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and friend Bonnie Diaz. She passed away peacefully on January 13, 2021 with Ralph, her husband of 55 years by her side.
Ms. Diaz joined the Center in 1995 and coordinated the Center’s communication with its industry members from around the globe and daily activities with the Center faculty, students, international scholars. She was the Managing Editor of the newsletter F.Y.I. and behind-the-scene organizer of Center’s Steering and Advisory Board meetings.
Ms. Diaz was a key person in the planning and operation of Center’s four Innovation Symposiums (1996-99), two Current Issues Symposiums (1996 and 98), and two bigger and more complex international conferences, the SMiRT 16 (16th International Conference for Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology) held in Washington DC in 2001, and the SMiRT 19 in Toronto, Canada in 2007. She developed and hosted the websites for the Symposiums, the SMiRT Conferences, and also of the IASMiRT (Internal Association of SMiRT), the parent organization of the Conferences.
Bonnie Diaz was the face of the Center to the vast majority of people who dealt with it. Often, she knew them on a first name basis.
Bonnie loved the Center’s graduate students, especially the international students, and they loved her. She enjoyed being a local parent to them.
Ms. Diaz came to the Center with 24 years of university experience. She was the Office Manager in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of South Florida from 1971 to 1990. She worked at NCSU for a year in the Computer Science Department and in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (1991-92). She worked with Professor Wayne Books for three years (1992-95) assisting him in his responsibilities as the Technical Editor for an ASME journal, at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Bonnie Diaz retired from North Carolina State University in 2010. She is survived by her husband Ralph, their daughters Dawn, Sharon and Meghan, and four grandchildren.
We will remember Bonnie for the joy of working with her, her humble and gracious personality, and her kindness and professionalism. We offer our deepest condolences to her family.