Mentor, friend and scientist Stephen Pothier, 52, died Monday, Nov. 30 at the GW Hospital after losing his fight against brain cancer.
Pothier was a senior research scientist at GW, a Delta Airlines pilot and served as the faculty advisor for the Inaugural Float project.
“We were all very saddened by the death of Stephen Pothier. He was an energetic, dedicated and enthusiastic member of the SEAS community and will be sorely missed by us all,” said School of Engineering and Applied Science Dean David Dolling.
The students who helped build the float – GW’s first since Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration in 1913 – said Pothier was devoted to the project, pulling all-nighters with students in the basement of the Tompkins Hall – affectionately called the dungeon – and the tent pitched in Kogan Plaza.
“I remember working down in the dungeon and so many times there would be tools scattered around everywhere and instead of grilling students to see if they knew how to use the tools, he would drop whatever it was that he was doing and go teach the students,” former Student Association President Vishal Aswani said.
Even after his all of his work, Pothier declined to ride the float on Inauguration Day, saying that he wanted one more student to have the opportunity.
“Steve was a great man. No matter where we were on the float, no matter what the issues were, he went of his way to make sure every student was actively involved,” Aswani said.
Pothier first came to GW in September 2007 to research with David Chichka, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Chichka said he remembers Pothier walking into his office and declaring “‘I came here to work with you,’” jokingly adding that research was his second priority in coming to GW. His first was a reduced membership at Lerner Health and Wellness Center.
Before his death, Pothier was working on – among other projects – a petroleum synthesizer, a device that absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and creates biofuel-type petroleum products. He hoped the device would remove greenhouse gasses from the air and use them to create fossil fuel substitutes.
“Steve didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him. He was worried that people would. So when he first discovered [his cancer], he didn’t tell people for a while. He didn’t want them to start looking at him as the ‘cancer guy,’ he wanted them to see him as the researcher,” Chichka said.
What Chichka remembers most about Pothier was his overwhelming positive presence in people’s lives.
“He was probably one of the bright spots in people’s lives for those who knew him,” Chichka said.
Continuing his love for science, Pothier donated his body to the GW Medical School. In lieu of flowers, Pothier asked donations be sent to the National Brain Tumor Society in Massachusetts or the Port Townsend High School Wrestling Club in Washington State.
“He was an increasingly happy, kind and dynamic young guy. He was just amazing and such good guy. He was always laughing, always engaging people,” brother-in-law Arthur McGeown said. “He is just a real of example for inspiration for the rest of us to enjoy our lives.”
His siblings, Terry, John, Sandy and Bill and his brothers-in-law McGeown and Ken Mills survive him. He has also left behind his sister-in-law Nancy Kelly and her two children.
