In Memoriam, July 7, 1937 – October 26, 2024
Professor Fred Oliver Simons, Jr. began his academic journey in his birth state at Mississippi State University, earning his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1960. His drive and determination then took him and his young family to Gainesville, Florida, where he earned his Master of Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida (U. of F.) in 1962 and his Ph.D. in 1965. His area of specialization for both of his graduate degrees was electromagnetics and he graduated from each with a grade point average of 4.0 (out of 4.0).
A born teacher, it was no surprise that Simons stayed in academia. He joined the faculty at U. of F. as an Electrical Engineering (E.E.) Assistant Professor and worked at the GENESYS (Graduate Engineering Education System) Center in Orlando, Florida. There, he was one of the early pioneers in distance learning, teaching graduate-level engineering courses over a state-wide, interactive, live TV system—the first of its kind.
While at GENESYS, Simons played a significant role in promoting the professional development of practicing engineers across Florida, earning tenure in the process. He also formed one of his career's most significant professional relationships with Professor Richard C. Harden, who managed the center. Their partnership was foundational to GENESYS’s success. It led to an incredibly productive lifelong affiliation that produced over half of the more than 150 research papers that Simons authored or co-authored during his career.
After four years, Simons moved to the E.E. Department at the University of Central Florida, where he taught from 1972 to 1985. While there, he was at the forefront of the department’s evolution into electrical and computer engineering (E.C.E.). In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Professor Simons worked on many consulting projects for public and private entities, focusing on computer simulation and modeling.
In 1985, Simons was selected by Florida State University to play an instrumental role in the launch of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. Once again, he shepherded the E.E. department’s expansion to include computer engineering. Building on his GENESYS experience, Simons served as the director of FEEDS (the Florida Engineering Education Delivery System), wherein he managed the delivery of synchronous and asynchronous video courses to graduate students in the Florida panhandle. While at the joint college, Professor Simons was a sought-after mentor who helped students to excel in all areas of their lives. Fittingly, he was the academic advisor for the first E.E. doctoral graduate and the first African American E.C.E. doctoral graduate.
Professor Simons was a beloved professor known for his intellect, innovation and academic contributions. But the one thing that always set him apart—and will be remembered most—was his true fondness for and dedication to his students. Their success and well-being were always his top priority. As one former student, who is now a professor at a prestigious university himself, said, “Dr. Simons could identify and inspire students to realize their full potential like no one else.”
As his family can all attest, nothing made him prouder than seeing his students achieve even greater heights than they had imagined.
Professor Simons is survived by his lovely wife of sixty-seven years, Kathy, who always supported his academic pursuits and contributed mightily to his career success. He’s also survived by a daughter, Donna, and a son, Fred III, who knew firsthand the emphasis their father placed on education. But they also knew and participated in the many other interests Dr. Simons enjoyed, including golf, deep sea fishing, photography and karate. True to form, he applied his tremendous drive to everything he did, for example, earning a second-degree blackbelt in Yoshukai Karate and inspiring his kids to earn black belts.
Family and friends can visit Dr. Simons’ public obituary online and obtain information on his upcoming Celebration of Life on January 18, 2025.
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