Westmont Mourns the Loss of Alum William Klug

President Gayle D. Beebe expressed the shock and sorrow of the Westmont community at learning about the shooting death of alumnus William Klug at UCLA today. “We’re deeply saddened by this tragic news and send our condolences to his wife, Mary Elise, also a Westmont graduate, and their family,” Beebe says.

“Professor Ken Kihlstrom remembers him as a gentle, kind person without a trace of arrogance. Dr. Klug was an excellent student at Westmont who conducted student research with two professors during his college years.

“He stayed connected to Westmont after he graduated, attended our Summer Research Symposium each year—he was the featured speaker one year—and also spoke in class occasionally.”

Professor Klug graduated from Westmont in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science in engineering physics and completed a master’s degree at UCLA and a doctorate at Cal Tech. He was an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UCLA.

This LA Times story describes Professor Klug as “both brilliant and kind, a rare blend in the competitive world of academic research.”

The Westmont magazine featured a story about him in 2004.