Spencer BeMent (1937-2024): In Memoriam

Spencer “Spence” L. BeMent, professor emeritus of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), passed away peacefully on July 4, 2024, at the age of 87. Over his 40 years in Michigan Engineering, he established foundational ideas about electrical stimulation in the brain, spearheaded interactive curriculum for bioelectrical engineering courses, and cultivated lifelong congenial relationships with colleagues and mentees.

“He was fascinated with nature, and always hoped to bring together engineering and biology in a search for greater understanding and to help make the world a better place,” said Mitch Rohde, a PhD alum advised by BeMent.

BeMent came to Michigan for his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and stayed for his master’s degree in the same program, earned in 1960 and 1962, respectively. During this time, he met and married his wife, Aileen, with whom he had three children. He then became one of the first cohort of PhD students to graduate from the newly minted, interdisciplinary bioengineering program (BME).

After his PhD graduation, he immediately joined the bioelectrical engineering faculty in EECS, focusing his research on understanding the electrical properties of the nervous system, signal transmission in the brain, and developing neural prostheses. He developed one of the most important courses in the BME graduate program on Electrical Biophysics, which is still part of BME.

“Spence, William Williams, Dan Green, Clyde Owings, Janice Jenkins and I all joined the EECS Department to be a part of BME, which, at the time, was a program in the Graduate School, not a department.” David Anderson, professor emeritus of EECS and Biomedical Engineering, recalled. “We were geographically spread across campus but constantly in contact as members of the systems group within EECS. We had an association for our entire period of time that we were on the faculty–we did slightly different things, but we were always aware of what the others were doing.”

“I had the good fortune of collaborating with Spence and several other faculty on research related to brain-computer interface (BCI) methods in the early 2000s,” recalled Interim Chair Jeff Fessler, William L. Root Collegiate Professor of EECS. “This was in the days before artificial intelligence became a hot topic for BCI. Spence was a fountain of knowledge for both the physiology and the algorithms for these investigations.”

“Anyone who ever worked with him would agree: watching Spence carry out experiments was like watching a concert pianist at a Steinway — 100% masterful,” Rohde added.

BeMent published over 90 peer-reviewed journal publications with his interdisciplinary research that touched neurophysiology, robotics, bioinstrumentation, plastic surgery, signal processing, computer-aided technology, and more. He was a member of Sigma Xi, Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi, and a senior member of IEEE.

In addition to his distinguished research career, BeMent was committed to the department and its community. During his time as a professor, he served as chair of the graduate affairs committee, the curriculum committee, and the chief undergraduate program advisor. For his contributions and leadership in the department, he was honored with the EECS Service Excellence Award in 1992. He advised and supported many undergraduate and graduate students until his retirement in 2000, when he was named an emeritus professor by the University of Michigan Regents.

“As my doctoral advisor, he showed me more than I could have ever hoped for: how to conduct research, the underlying philosophies of biomedical and electrical engineering, how to communicate my ideas and work with others, and especially how to write,” Rohde said.

“Spence was a valuable person to have on a PhD committee because he was a good editor,” Anderson added. “He was very meticulous and he asked not only scientific questions, but he would dig into how the students expressed themselves.”

“Prof. BeMent was congenial and giving of his time. He was not my main advisor, but he always offered thoughtful critiques of my work,” James Weiland, professor of Biomedical Engineering (BME), confirmed, recalling his experience having BeMent on his BME PhD committee.

BeMent kept up many of these close relationships with his colleagues after his retirement, and even up until his passing. They noted that he was kind, encouraging, deeply caring, and always had time for others. During this time, he picked up genealogy, photography, music, and travel. He got involved with his church community and Habitat for Humanity in Ann Arbor.

“I like to think of my friend now happily working in his lab in the sky, listening to action potentials coming through the speaker, adjusting the probe, tweaking the Grass amps, and hoping for something just a little bit cleaner,” Rohde concluded. “Thanks, Spence, for everything.”

Spencer BeMent will be missed by the many people he made an impact on during his time at Michigan––through his ideas, his good-natured demeanor, and his impressive height.

Read more in Spencer BeMent’s obituary.