In the early hours of September 20, 2018, UCSB Chemical Engineering Professor Emeritus Jacob Nissim Israelachvili passed away peacefully at home surrounded by loving family, after battling with cancer for over a year. He was 74.

Research Professor Emeritus Israelachvili joined the faculty of UCSB in 1986, where he held joint appointments as Professor in the Chemical Engineering Department, Materials Department, and BioMolecular Science and Engineering Program. He was a highly influential scientist and engineer, authoring or co-authoring 492 journal articles as well as a 700-page textbook on Intermolecular and Surface Forces, which became the standard reference in this field. Since 2011, the 3rd edition of this textbook has been cited more than 30,000 times. 

A service was held in Santa Barbara on September 23, 2018, and the campus flag lowered in his honor on September 25. 

The UC Santa Barbara community, Department of Engineering, and the Department of Chemical Engineering mourn a scientific giant, wonderful colleague, and magnificient mentor: 

Jacob Nissim Israelachvili of Santa Barbara, 1944-2018