M.Eng. alumnus perished on Air France flight

Andrés Suárez M.Eng. '95 was a passenger on Air France 447, the Rio de Janeiro to Paris flight that disappeared on June 1. Wreckage from the plane was subsequently found in the Atlantic. There were no survivors. 

Suárez, who was born in Marchena, Spain, came to Cornell after receiving his undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Seville, Spain. He spent his final undergraduate year at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. With his Master of Engineering team, he completed a project on "Simulation of Automated Machines in the Semiconductor Industry" under the guidance of Professor Lee W. Schruben. Schruben, who is now at the University of California, Berkeley, said "Andrés was one of my favorites. He was a good friend of my son, Matt. We will miss him."   

Suárez worked for Schruben's company after graduation and in 1996 he began working for Schlumberger, the oil services company. During his career with Schlumberger's Wireline Divison Suárez had positions in Colombia, Venezuela, and most recently in Brazil, where he was Vice President of Wireline for Latin America. He was on the way to Paris where he had just been appointed as Personnel Manager for the division, according to Schlumberger Chairman and CEO Andrew Gould. Alexander Bjoroy, the son of a Schlumberger employee was on his way home from boarding school on flight 447. "Both Andrés and Alexander will be greatly missed by their families and friends inside and outside of Schlumberger," said Gould.

During his first semester as an M.Eng. student, Suárez's father died in Spain, so Andrés went to the Seville area for the funeral. Despite this disruption of his studies he returned to Cornell and finished near the top of his M.Eng. class.  

He is survived by his wife Samantha Sanchez, who was in Caracas for a few days to present her Ph.D. thesis and so was unable to accompany him on the flight to Paris, and by his mother in Seville. Andrés and Samantha met when they were both working in Venezuela, according to press reports. They were married two years ago.

"To learn of his recent marriage and career advancement lends a special poignancy to the dreadful news that Andrés Suárez was among the victims of the terrible tragedy of Air France 447," said ORIE Director James Renegar. "Our sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues."