Dan Post, professor emeritus of engineering science and mechanics, died Jan. 25. He was 96.

Post was born in Brooklyn, New York, in April 1929 at the start of the Great Depression. He attended Brooklyn Technical High School and immersed himself in the mechanical arts of mechanical drawing, machine shop, foundry practice, and forging. This was in preparation for a technical career, as he did not expect to attend college.

He met his wife, Frieda, on a bicycle outing with friends at age 16. They enjoyed Saturday night dates, which generally involved roller skating followed by ice cream sodas at the local candy store. They married at 19 and built a house trailer that they towed 1,000 miles to Illinois. There, Frieda took a job while Dan pursued his education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In only two years, he completed his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, followed by a master’s degree in theoretical and applied mechanics a year later in 1951.

Post specialized in studying strain on structures, a skill that helped him land his dream job at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory following graduation. He was tasked with studying hull breaches in World War II cargo vessels while being mentored by pioneers of the field.

Dan and Frieda grew their family while he worked at the Navy lab. Their son, Irwin, was born in 1953, and twin daughters Ellen and Marion followed in 1955. They took their newborns along as he returned to his alma mater, earning his Ph.D. in theoretical and applied mechanics in 1957.

Post first applied his skill to industry, building early processes for a manufacturer of electrical resistors using his own patented technology. The company thrived, but Post was ready for a new adventure in academia. He and his family moved to England, where he worked at Sheffield University on new optical techniques being developed in the field of deformation sensing.

In 1978, Post came to Virginia Tech as a faculty member in engineering science and mechanics, now a program within the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He wrote more than 100 technical papers, publishing with both colleagues and students on theory and applications.

He was also granted six patents, several of which were for improvements to the ski boot. Both his daughters were eventually inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, and as they excelled at the sport, he applied his engineering skills to improving one of their most important pieces of equipment.

“My father felt that boots could be designed to transmit fore/aft and side-to-side pressure to the skis more effectively and with less effort,” Ellen Post said. “He also wanted to resolve the problem of putting boots on and taking then off, which can be difficult.”

His work, which included an early design with a contoured spring and later an internal spring that controls the flex of the boot, was granted three patents.

Rendering of a ski boot using Dan Post's patented technology. Video courtesy of Kitty Li and Alex Wang, University of Florida.

Post was a member of the Virginia Tech faculty until his retirement in 1991, when he became professor emeritus. In addition to his innovation of ski boots, he continued to make contributions to academia, publishing a book with two former students three years after retiring.

Post’s skill as an instructor and a colleague was noted by David Dillard, a student and later colleague of Post’s.

“Dan Post will long be remembered as a kind, patient, and generous professor,” Dillard said. “A tinkerer at heart, he had an immense understanding of mechanics, how things worked, and how to create practical hardware out of abstract ideas. As a student in his photomechanics class many years ago, I still remember his clever ‘teacart experiments,’ He would frequently wheel a small cart into the classroom, complete with a laser, a variety of lenses and mirrors, and a ground glass viewer, along with specimens he was analyzing. All items were carefully mounted, so he would just plug in the laser, and we would gather around to learn about what he had created.”

He was honored in 2013 with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Conference on Computational and Experimental Engineering and Science, a leading global forum for computational and experimental in interdisciplinary fields. He also remained directly engaged with the education of students as recently as fall 2025, exchanging emails with Dillard regarding methods of experimental stress analysis in which Post was a long-time expert.

“We have lost an amazing scientist, gentleman, and friend,” Dillard said. “In addition to his tremendous technical insights and creativity, his kindness and encouragement were so important to me in my education and career.”

If you have a story of adventure with Dan Post, please send it to grandson Nathan Post ’08 to share with the Post family.

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