Leonard M. Sander, Ph.D., professor of physics and professor of complex systems in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, will retire from active faculty status on May 31, 2015.

Professor Sander received his B.S. degree from Washington University in 1963 and his Ph.D. degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1968. He joined the University of Michigan faculty as an assistant professor in 1969, and was promoted to associate professor in 1975, and professor in 1981. He held an additional appointment of professor of complex systems since 2010.

An internationally renowned physicist, Professor Sander studied theoretical condensed matter physics, statistical physics, and theoretical biophysics. His seminal work explored growth on surfaces, growth patterns in biology, including brain tumors, mathematical models in epidemiology, models of fluctuation dominated chemical reactions, new methods for the computation of rare events, and non-equilibrium growth. Professor Sander's extensive list of publications includes numerous journal articles, proceedings, book chapters, and textbooks. His most influential work was the discovery and elucidation of diffusion limited aggregation, a random growth process with wide-ranging applicability in physical and biological systems. The primary paper on this topic entitled "Diffusion-Limited Aggregation, A Kinetic Critical Phenomenon", co-authored with T.A. Witten, is the ninth most cited paper in the premier physics journal Physical Review Letters (1981). In addition to his notable research endeavors, Professor Sander made time to mentor graduate and undergraduate students, serve as the associate director of the Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics, and hold several visiting positions at institutions in England, France, Israel, and Spain.

The Regents now salute this distinguished teacher and scholar by naming Leonard M. Sander, professor emeritus of physics and professor emeritus of complex systems.