Grossi, Space Innovator, Dies

Mario D. Grossi, a retired radio physicist and engineer with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and father of the space-based orbiting tether, died Jan. 11. He was 74.

A native of Italy, Grossi began his association with the Harvard and Smithsonian observatories in the early days of the Space Age. In the 1970s, he helped develop the concept of tethered satellites, a technique that connects satellites and experimental packages to spacecraft and allows them to drag, or "troll," through the lower atmosphere of Earth.

Grossi joined the Smithsonian observatory in 1959 and became an associate at the Harvard College Observatory in 1965. He was the head of the Special Projects Group of the Radio and Geoastronomy Division at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics for more than a decade.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 29, in the Memorial Church, Harvard Yard.

Eder, Former Law School Instructor

George J. Eder, a former instructor at the Law School and an expert on Latin American economics, died Dec. 30. He was 98. He headed an economic mission in 1956 to aid the Bolivian government in coping with spiraling inflation. In 1961, he spent several years teaching at Harvard Law School.

Schwartz, Former Medical School Instructor

Henry G. Schwartz, a neurosurgeon and lecturer who was a former instructor in anatomy at the Medical School in the 1930s, died in St. Louis on Dec. 24. One of his early contributions was a study on the effect of lumbar puncture, in which a needle is inserted into the spinal canal, reducing the pressure inside the skull in severe head injuries. He was 89.

Coolidge, Retired Instructor of English Literature

Henry P. Coolidge, a retired instructor of English literature, died Jan. 9. He was 84.

Coolidge was an alumnus of Harvard College and taught here for about 10 years. He also taught at Tufts University, chiefly under its liberal arts program at the Boston Museum School.

Zoll, Professor of Medicine Emeritus

Paul M. Zoll, clinical professor of medicine emeritus, died Jan. 5. He was 87. He was a cardiologist and pioneer in developing the heart monitors, pacemakers, and defibrillators used by millions around the world. He won an Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award in 1973.

Glen W. Baxter, Retired Lecturer in Asian Studies

Glen W. Baxter, retired senior lecturer on East Asian studies, died Sept. 23. He was 84.

Baxter received a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1952. After two years of study and research in Japan, he returned to Harvard, at first in an editorial capacity and later as acting director of the Harvard- Yenching Institute during the absence of Edwin O. Reischauer. He then continued as associate director at the Institute and was particularly concerned with the Asian students and visiting scholars the Institute brought to Harvard. He retired in 1980.