Van Emden Henson

Profile Updated: May 30, 2017
Class Year: 1972
Spouse/Partner: Teri Dern Henson
Children: Daughter, Jennifer Christine (Henson) Pelamati, born in 1990. Jenn is an EMT and supervisor for ProTransport-1, More…an ambulance service, working in Oakland California. She is also the mother of Laila Christine Pelamati, born 2015.
Occupation: Mathematician at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Yes! Attending Reunion
How did you meet?

Backstage, Theatre 138 in Salt Lake City, 1975

Share your story since high school.

Started at U of U as theatre major, 1972
Spent several years doing theatre in Salt Lake, mostly at The Human Ensemble and Theatre 138;
Returned to U of U in Fall 1976, graduated in 1979 with BS in Geology and Geophysics.
Worked for Cities Service Oil & Gas in Tulsa and Denver, taken over (1984) by Occidental Petroleum. Laid off (at my request) when Oxy closed the Denver office in January, 1987.
Attended graduate school at U of Colorado-Denver, obtaining MS (1988) and PhD (1990) in Applied Mathematics.
Joined the math faculty at the US Naval Postgraduate School in 1991.
Left NPS and joined staff at the Center for Applied Scientific Computing at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1997; employed there still, working on mathematics for cyber-security, data mining, and intelligence applications.
Several major passions through my adult life: guitar and later bass since I was a teenager. Avid sailor and sailboat racer through the 1990s; soccer referee since 1999- referee, referee instructor, and referee assessor, matches at all levels from U10 kids through high school, college, and adult amateurs.
Latest passion: obtained a Sport Pilot's license (2011) and fly light sport aircraft (most frequently a 1946 Aeronca Champ L-16B); obtained a Private Pilot (glider) license and now primarily fly gliders. President of the Northern California Soaring Association, member of the Nevada Soaring Association, owner of a MiniNimbus glider. Holds an FAI Gold Badge (Soaring) which entailed a five-hour flight, a flight with 9,750 feet (3000 meters) of altitude gain, and a flight covering at least 300 kilometers of distance.

Where else have you lived?

Tulsa, Oklahoma; Denver, Colorado; Monterey, California; Livermore, California

Any advice for your fellow Alumni?

Do the things you are putting off; you never know when you just missed your last chance. Frequently tell (or better, show) your family and friends that you love them, because you never know when you just missed your last chance on that, either.

Van Emden's Latest Interactions

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May 25, 2022 at 5:48 PM

And here is the view from my MiniNimbus, flying at 15,500 feet over the eastern scarp of the Sierra Mountains near Bishop, California. Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks are in the distance

Van Emden Henson posted a message. New comment added.
Jul 18, 2022 at 5:09 PM

Posted on: May 25, 2022 at 5:46 PM

Here I am with my Mini Nimbus glider

May 30, 2017 at 1:17 AM
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Posted: Dec 16, 2013 at 11:22 PM
Posted: Dec 16, 2013 at 11:22 PM