Stevens’ pioneering work as the originator of the quantal theory of speech helped earn him the National Medal of Science.
Larry Hardesty, MIT News OfficeKenneth Stevens
(Photo: Greg Hren/Research Laboratory of Electronics)Kenneth Stevens, the Clarence J. LeBel Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, whose pioneering work at the intersection of engineering and linguistics helped earn him the National Medal of Science, died Aug. 19 in Clackamas, Ore., from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. He was 89.Born in Toronto on March 23, 1924, to British-born parents, Stevens lived there until 1948, earning both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering physics from the University of Toronto. Having lost an eye to cancer when he was four years old, Stevens was ineligible for military service during World War II, but after completing his master’s, he stayed at the university for three more years, teaching returning soldiers under the Veterans Rehabilitation Act, the Canadian equivalent of the G.I. Bill. One of these students was his older brother, Pete. Read more.
Professor Stevens contributed much to the MIT community and was a significant contributor to OpenCourseWare. Our condolences to his family and friends. Courses he shared on OCW include:
