Francis X. Canning ’71

Francis X. Canning ’71 died of Hodgkin’s lymphoma in Lancaster, California, on September 29, 2023. He earned his A.B. with a double major in mathematics and physics, followed by an M.S. (1977) and Ph.D. (1982) in physics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, for computer simulations of superconducting phase transitions. He had a brilliant mind and began his career in 1982 at the Naval Weapons Center China Lake in Ridge Crest, California, where he simulated radar systems and electromagnetic propagation. In addition to his civil service, he interviewed prospective Dartmouth students for the College. In 1996 he was elected a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He spent the next decades working in southern California and West Virginia, returning to China Lake for the remainder of his career. He is survived by daughter Rachel and siblings Robert, Margaret, and Kathleen.