Remembering Oscar Manz

Oscar Ernest Manz, professor emeritus of civil engineering, died June 4, 2012, after a short battle with cancer. He was 84.

He was born on August 8, 1927, in Castor, Alberta to Siegmund and Valborg Waller Manz.

Manz graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 1951 with a B.S. in Ceramics and obtained a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of North Dakota.

He was united in marriage to Dorothy Ella Mae Edman.

He received an Outstanding Service Award from the junior engineering technical society. He later received a scholarship for the summer Asphalt Institute Paving Program at the University of Minnesota where he earned his M.S. in Civil Engineering.

Manz began his career as an associate professor in the Civil Engineering Department at UND and continued his research as a professor emeritus in 1962. In 1965 he founded the Basic Fly Ash Testing Institute at UND, which was later renamed the Coal By-Products Utilization Institute. Manz finished his 36 year career at UND as the director of the institute.

He gained an international reputation for his fly ash research, and  sought to find a use for the fine powder collected from coal-burning power plants.

Manz received international awards for his research and was invited to present at international conventions. He also had many published articles and papers regarding his innovative fly ash research.

Manz was preceded in death by his parents and sons, Mark David Manz and Scott Edman Manz.

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy, Alvarado; four sons, Brad (Lorraine) Manz, Bismarck; Jeff (Elena) Manz, East Grand Forks; Tim (Lisa) Manz, Blaine, Minn.; Matthew (Anne) Manz, Humboldt, Iowa; a daughter, Rachel (Jim) Ferguson, Apple Valley, Minn; and 17 grandchildren.

The family requests that memorials be sent in memory of Oscar to:
Down Syndrome Association of Minnesota: www.dsamn.org ,656 Transfer Road, Saint Paul, MN 55114.