Allan F, Bower is emeritus professor of engineering at Brown University, where he taught in the undergraduate mechanical engineering programme and the graduate programme in mechanics of solids. His research interests were in solid mechanics and included topics such as the strength of contacting surfaces; thin films for microelectronics; metal forming; and the mechanical behavior of energy storage materials. He also enjoyed working with Brown’s talented students in a broad range of engineering courses, and was the recipient of various teaching awards, including Brown’s Royce family professorship in teaching excellence