Electrical engineering professor Stephen Hill, 50, died in a car accident the morning of May 2 in Atwater.

Hill worked for the Modesto Irrigation District prior to studying at UC Merced for his doctorate in environmental systems.

According to Thomas Matthews, chair of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering department, Hill commuted from his home in Atwater to teach at Sacramento State.

“He sent a resume here to Sac State during the (winter) intersession, about the time I was trying to cover classes, but he had a long history of teaching wherever his work took him,” Matthews said.

Hill was teaching his first class at Sac State. Steven de Haas, a circuits, controls and ethics professor for the department will take over the course for the remainder of the semester.

“I was looking forward to a growing relationship between our department and Dr. Hill.  I’m sure he would have enriched our program,” Matthews said.

While earning his PhD at UC Merced, Hill worked in energy research and was a teaching assistant for engineering courses.

Hill’s thesis was a project utilizing water treatment facilities already in use, for the secondary purpose of creating electricity.

Roland Winston was Hill’s PhD advisor at UC Merced and guided him on his project.

“It generated interest around the state,” said Winston. “His idea is being taken up around California, so he already had a name, even though he had just barely finished his PhD. It was very, very tragic.”

Hill was to attend commencement ceremonies for Merced May 17.

“My part was to present him with his graduation hood, his PhD hood, but instead I will be handing it to his son,” said Winston. “Aside from making an original engineering contribution he was a wonderful person. He was a nice, calm, considerate individual.”