William (Bill) Kennedy died peacefully at Princeton Medical Center at Plainsboro on June 23, 2012. The cause was environmentally caused melanoma. He was 69 years old. He is survived by his parents, Edward and Rae Kennedy; his beloved wife, lover and caregiver, Patricia Kennedy; his devoted daughters Kathleen Kennedy and Sheila Miles; his grandchildren, Timothy Miles, James Miles, Edward Dykes and Victoria Dykes; his son in-law James Dykes; his cousin Paul Srodoski; and his close friend, Jack the Cat.

Bill was born on 4th September 1942 in Schenectady, NY. Shortly afterwards his family moved to Scotia. Bill had an idyllic childhood, graduating from Burnt Hills Ballston Lake High School in June 1960. He delivered newspapers, moved lawns and worked in a garage. He attended Cornell University and graduated from Union College in Schenectady with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in June 1969. In May 1966 he began working for Parsons Brinkerhoff, where he continued working until his death. On 21st January 1967 he married the love of his life, Patricia White.

Bill rose through the ranks at Parsons Brinkerhoff to Vice President and Principal Professional Associate. He was a renowned Tunnel Ventilation Engineer holding professional licenses in New York, Texas and California. Throughout his career he worked in the counties of Australia, Canada, China, Dubai, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Madeira, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and Venezuela.

He was a major participant in the development of the Subway Environment Simulation (SES) program, which has been accepted industry wide as the standard tool for subway design for the last forty years. The program provides air velocities, air temperatures and cooling loads in the operating subway system. The designer-oriented program interfaces directly with engineering personnel. He developed the aerodynamic model and also participated in the development of the fire model, the train performance model, and the computer program for simulating regenerative braking, chopper control and coasting for electrified transit vehicles. He also developed extremely specialized applications of the SES program such as its application to the English Channel Tunnel, the modeling of a Saccardo nozzle longitudinal ventilation system for the Singapore Underground Road System (SURS), the modeling of air curtains for environmental control in Hong Kong subway, the modeling of platform screen doors, and its uses as a gas transport model. His most recent responsibilities included providing guidance to the tunnel ventilation division's computational fluid dynamics group and directing the application of the proprietary computer program Simulex to station and tunnel emergency exiting.

Bill was an active member within the engineering industry maintaining membership and holding leadership roles in many professional organizations including American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Member; American Society of Heating, Member; Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Member and Chair (1993- 1996) of ASHRAE Technical Committee 5.9; US Member of the Organizing Committee for the International Symposia on the Aerodynamics and Ventilation of Tunnels (ISAT) for ten consecutive conferences: the Fifth in May 1985 through the Fourteenth in May 2011; US Member of the International Technical Committee for Safety in Road and Rail Tunnels Conferences (SRRTC) from the First in November 1992 through the Fifth in October 2003; American Public Transportation Association (APTA), Chair of Ventilation Technical Forum (1997-2009); National Fire Protection Association, Member (1998-Present) and Chair (2000-2010) of Fixed Guideway Transit and Passenger Rail Systems Committee – NFPA 130; Engineering Advisory Board to the Columbia University Department of Mechanical Engineering, Member (2007- Present); and Plainsboro Township Zoning Board of Adjustment, Member (2008-Present).
Bill had a special interest in Genealogy, tracing his and his wife's family back many generations. Vacations often included a trip to a grave yard. In his earlier years he enjoyed coin collecting. Bill loved antique airplanes, collecting airplane books and visiting airplane museums. An avid reader of both fiction and nonfiction, he enjoyed visiting bookstores and his house overflowed with books.

A local gathering will be held at Kimble Funeral Home, 1 Hamilton Avenue, Princeton on Wednesday, 27th June from 2pm to 5pm, with speakers at 3:30pm.

A funeral service will be held on Friday, June 29th at White Funeral Home in Scotia, New York with burial immediately following in the family plot at Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery in Niskayuna, New York.

Memorial donations may be made to Columbia Engineering Fund, 530 Mudd Building MC 4718, 530 W 120th Street, New York, NY 10027 or online at https://giving.columbia.edu/giveonline/?schoolstyle=160