A look back at friends and colleagues who left us in 2011.

2011 will likely be recalled as a transitive year, one in which we took stock of the pros and cons of various geographies and business models as we tried to come to grips with very uncertain economic times. It will also be recalled as the year we lost some of the industry’s biggest names from all ends of the design and manufacturing spectrum, from Steve Jobs to Werner Engelmaier. This month we reflect on their impact on our industry and our lives.

Steve Jobs, 56, cofounder and face of Apple, PC apostle and tech visionary.

Frank Coultard, 69, salesman for Nelco from 1982 to 1998, and technical director of the Printed Circuit Interconnection Federation.

Steven J. Adamson, engineer and inventor at Asymtek, Motorola and Kodak, and past IMAPS president.

Paul E. Lotosky, 55, director of technical support, Cookson Electronics, where he worked for 33 years; CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY columnist.

Lewis Gordon, 73, founder of circuit board manufacturer Midland Standard Industries.

Francis A. Schneiders, 84, worked at Enthone for 42 years, beginning in 1950 as a research chemist and ultimately for 17 years as president.

Bob Pease, 70, analog guru, prolific author and inventor, and industry legend.

Jim Williams, 63, staff scientist, Linear Technology, National Semiconductor, Arthur D. Little, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dimitry Grabbe, 83, retired AMP Inc. director of research and technology, inventor, and founder of Maine Research Corp.

Wang Ling, 25, Foxconn engineer.

Unidentified male (John Doe), 20, Foxconn worker.

Unidentified male (John Doe), 21, Foxconn worker.

Chen Long, age unknown, Foxconn worker.

Niu Xiaobei, age unknown, Foxconn company intern.

Kenneth Olsen, 84, Digital Equipment Corp. cofounder who famously said he couldn’t imagine why a person would want a computer in their home.

Rudolf Picavet, 62, former IBM and Celestica employee.

Joseph Thomas (Tom) West, 71, Data General chief technologist, protagonist of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Soul of a New Machine.

Werner Engelmaier, 72, former Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff, AT&T Bell Labs, and perhaps the industry’s preeminent expert on solder joint reliability.

Sidney Harman, 92, stereo equipment designer and pioneer.

Constance L. “Connie” Bennett, 64, former IBM and Celestica worker.

John A. Josifek, 67, owned PCB fabricators Electro-Fab and Croix Circuits.

Dr. Bill Kenyon, 74, retired DuPont chemist; cleaning guru.

Li Rongying, 20, Foxconn worker.

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