Dr. Alan D. Swain III
Dr. Alan D. Swain III, loving husband, father, father-in-law, and grandfather, passed away at home in Green Valley, AZ, on November 2, 2021, at the age of 97. He was born in Washington, DC, on November 21, 1923, to Alan D. Swain Jr. and Lillian M. Swain. As a child he lived in Grand Rapids, MI, and then on the family farm in Marion, OH, graduating from Marion Harding High School in 1941. He was a WWII veteran and served in the Navy as a radioman-navigator from 1942 to 1945. He graduated from Ohio State University with an MA in 1948 and a Ph.D. in Psychology in 1953. He was employed by several small firms, as well as the American Institute of Research, before joining Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM, as a Human Factors Engineer in 1961, where he achieved the Distinguished Member of Technical Staff designation. His areas of expertise included weapons systems and nuclear power plants. In addition to receiving the Jack A. Kraft Innovator Award in 1984, he authored many technical papers and books, including the “Handbook of Human Reliability Analysis with Emphasis on Nuclear Power Plants.” He was a pioneer in developing the first and most widely used method of Human Reliability Analysis (THERP) in the world. He lectured and taught courses on Man-Machine Systems and Human Risk Assessment in the US and many different countries and was a Fellow in the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. He was a scholar and a gentleman.
He is survived by his wife Allana G. Swain of Green Valley and daughter Sandra Swain Rodriguez, son-in-law Dr. Michael Rodriguez, and grandchildren Eva L. Rodriguez and Anthony M. Rodriguez of Longmont, CO. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Jeanne M. Swain, and his son, Alan D. Swain IV. Cremation was entrusted to the National Cremation Society. Interment will be at Fairview Memorial Park in Albuquerque, NM. A memorial service will be held at a later date. The family wishes to thank Hospice Home Care of Green Valley. Until we meet again . . always in our hearts.