Ronald Paul Koopman

Ronald Paul Koopman died Jan. 21. He was 80.

Koopman was born on March 15, 1943, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Paul and Ilah Koopman. He graduated in 1961 from Ottawa High School. At the University of Michigan, he majored in mechanical engineering. He began working at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in 1967. When he began working at LLNL, he was helping to design exotic nuclear reactors for use in space. He received his doctor of philosophy in 1977 in nuclear physics at the department of applied science at University of California, Davis. He then became the fluid dynamics group leader. His career as a manager or group leader involved, in part, Avlis, bioterrorism, fuel cells, and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). He conducted research on hazardous gas releases at China Lake and the Nevada test site. His long career at LLNL, lasting from 1967 to 2003, resulted in 60 scientific publications.

He is survived by his wife Jo Ann, sister Elizabeth Herb, daughters Caia Koopman and Marni Koopman, stepchildren Rebecca Ottesen and Neil Ottesen, and grandchildren Wade Bennett, Rio Lima, and Caio Lima. He is proceeded in death by his younger brother, Robert Koopman.

A celebration of life will be held at a future date. Donations may be made in his name to: Del Valle Fine Arts, PO Box 2335, Livermore, 94551 (delvallefinearts.org) or The Sierra Club (sierraclub.org).