Andrew R. Neureuther died last night from glioblastoma, cancer of the brain.  He was 84 years old.  Andy chose not to receive aggressive treatment for his cancer, which enabled him to die peacefully in his home.  His wife Cindy sent out this message earlier today:

“Andy died very peacefully last night at 8:30. He used the End of Life option. His body had completely given out on him and he fell twice yesterday (without injury). He could no longer use his phone or computer.  Andy chose to be in his recliner in the living room listening to his favorite music on YouTube. It was exactly as he wanted his ending to be.”

When he announced his diagnosis to colleagues in June, this was the short description he gave of his career:

“After working with Rick Dill at IBM (1972) in pioneering efforts to turn lithography from art to a science, it was natural at Berkeley, with circuit design, CAD, devices, MEMs, and computer sciences for our Technology CAD group to do leading research on modeling the physics of optical lithography through each step of Moore’s Law from i-line up through today’s use of EUV lithography.  We helped deliver the smaller, cheaper and faster parts that the exponential growth requires.  We enjoyed collaborating with our friends in the field and it has been very gratifying knowing that our work has significantly improved everyone’s lives.”

My career intersected with Andy’s almost from its start.  He was an inspiration to me, as he was to many others, and it is a great privilege that I was able to call him my friend.