{"id":11239,"date":"2026-04-09T12:40:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T19:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/?p=11239"},"modified":"2026-04-09T12:40:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T19:40:39","slug":"remembering-hal-westberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/2026\/04\/09\/remembering-hal-westberg\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Hal Westberg"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dear Colleagues:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am writing to share the sad news that our longtime colleague Hal Westberg passed away on March 5. He was 85 and living in the Tri-Cities with his wife, Sandy, close to their children and grandchildren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hal dedicated 35 years to Washington State University, joining in 1971 and building a career defined by innovation, mentorship, and impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was a pioneer in volatile organic compound (VOC) sampling and analysis, advancing cryogenic high-resolution gas chromatography methods and leading major EPA-supported field campaigns to better understand air quality dynamics across the United States. His work extended from urban environments to forest ecosystems, and even to agricultural applications, where he helped develop methods for measuring methane emissions from cattle that have been used around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyod his research contributions, Hal was a deeply committed educator and mentor, advising more than 25 graduate students and helping shape the undergraduate environmental measurements laboratory course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the reorganization of the Air Pollution Research Section in 1983, he became the founding director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric Research within Civil and Environmental Engineering. He retired in 2006 and remained closely connected to family in the Tri-Cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hal\u2019s legacy lives on through the many students he mentored, the colleagues he collaborated with, and the field he helped advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who wish to honor his memory, a Laboratory for Atmospheric Research endowment has been established to support graduate student training and research: feel free to contribute in Hal’s memory<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please join me in remembering Hal and extending our condolences to Sandy and his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Partha<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Partha<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Partha Pratim Pande, FIEEE<\/strong>
Dean and Professor
Boeing Centennial Chair in Computer Engineering
Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture
Washington State University
Office: 509-335-5593<\/a>
Email: pande@wsu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am writing to share the sad news that our longtime colleague Hal Westberg passed away on March 5. He was 85 and living in the Tri-Cities with his wife, Sandy, close to their children and grandchildren.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42153,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[389],"tags":[],"wsuwp_university_location":[],"wsuwp_university_org":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11239"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42153"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11239"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11240,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11239\/revisions\/11240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11239"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_location?post=11239"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_org","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_org?post=11239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}