Carolyn J. Merry
Merry was driving north on I-71 when her car was struck from behind by a semi-truck that failed to stop for traffic backed up due to an earlier crash.
A world-renowned scholar in remote sensing and geographic information systems, Merry retired in May, 2013 after 25 years of distinguished service at Ohio State. She began her career with the College of Engineering in the fall of 1988 as an assistant professor teaching surveying and remote sensing. Climbing the ranks, she became department chair in 2004.
During her tenure as chair, Merry spurred major improvements to department labs, offices, and meeting rooms with money, time, and equipment donated by service-minded civil engineering alumni and industry partners. Her relationship with students, faculty, alumni and donors was remarkable and sincere.
“We will miss Carolyn greatly. She was a leader, a scholar, a teacher, a mentor, so many wonderful things,” said College of Engineering Dean David B. Williams. “Carolyn has left us—and future generations of Buckeye engineers—with a lasting legacy of compassion, brilliance, and pioneering achievement.”
In 2009, with gifts from her husband Robert K. Redfield, the Carolyn J. Merry Engineering Scholarship Fund was established to provide renewable scholarships to civil or environmental engineering undergraduates.