CHARLES ALFRED ANDERSON March 2, 1935 – Jan. 26, 2026

Charles Alfred Anderson, born March 2, 1935, in Brockway, Pennsylvania, to Carl Arthur and Lillian Anderson, passed away on January 26, after a life defined by academic curiosity and scholarship. The son of dairy farmers and grandson of Swedish immigrants, Charles—known to all as Chuck—was the first of the extended Anderson/Johnson clan to attend college.

With determination and academic talent, Chuck attended Penn State University, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering and a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics. It was at Penn State that he met Linda Quinn, who would become his wife; they were introduced by her brother Jim, Chuck’s Chemical Engineering classmate. Chuck went on to earn his doctorate in Applied Mechanics from Brown University.

Chuck spent the majority of his professional career at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where his intellect and steady mentorship left a lasting impact. Interested in travel and curious about other cultures, he took a sabbatical in the 1970s to teach at the University of Swansea. He taught himself Russian and frequently accompanied Linda, a language teacher at Los Alamos High School, on overseas trips with her students to France and Spain. They also visited both of their children when they were expats overseas in China, Japan, Australia, Germany and Italy.

Chuck was a mentor and sponsor of women in STEM, serving as a thesis advisor and actively supporting their academic advancement. He also established a Penn State scholarship for Women in Engineering, ensuring that future generations would have opportunities that he deeply valued.

Chuck’s life was marked not only by academic achievement, but by a belief in the power of education to open doors for others.

Chuck was an avid outdoorsman, enjoying backpacking and fishing, and was passionate about tennis, playing well into his 80s.

He is survived by his children (both engineers), Eric and Kristen, his sister Wilma and brother Richard.