Longtime Ann Arbor resident and mechanical engineer, Milton Chace died March 29, 2025, at University Hospital of a respiratory infection. He was 91.

Born March 19, 1934, in Washington, D.C., Chace was an only child, raised by loving parents, Philip and Myrle. As a boy, he was drawn to natural adventures. Morally straight, with a strong work ethic, he achieved the rank of Eagle.

His aptitude for math and physics led to a scholarship to Cornell University, where he earned a B.S in engineering physics in 1957. A member of Sigma Pi fraternity, Milton sang in the choir, meeting Anne Morhouse of Ticonderoga, New York, whom he pursued determinedly and persuaded to marry him.

Chace first worked as an engineer with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in Maryland, then with Atomic Power Development Associates (1959-1961), a Detroit-based nonprofit tasked with design, construction and operation of the “Fermi 1,” an early fast breeder reactor plagued by safety problems.

Pivoting, Milt settled his family in nearby Ann Arbor, earning M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan (1961-64).

Based on the substance of his M.S. thesis, Chace was hired in 1964 by IBM in Rochester, Minnesota, to develop the first general software used for analysis of 3D rigid-body devices. The program was named Kinematic Analysis Method. He returned to Ann Arbor in 1967, when offered an associate professorship of mechanical engineering and applied mechanics at U-M. He became a full professor with tenure in 1975.

Chace suffered the loss of his wife Anne, age 38, to breast cancer in 1977. Shortly thereafter, he was remarried briefly to Thorgunn Stevens, mother of Christian and Tracy Stevens. In 1979, he was introduced to Sandra Fortier, a professional therapist and kindred adventurer. Dating for several years, the couple married in December 1991 and remained so until his death.

Retiring from teaching in 1984, Milton led development of the ADAMS program, or Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems. Later in his business career, he became a sought-after expert witness, testifying in scores of cases requiring dynamic reconstruction of catastrophic vehicle rollovers, primarily those affecting large passenger vans and SUVs.

The court accepted Milt’s ADAMS reconstructions as hard evidence of what had happened, and how vehicle design contributed to rollovers. It was the first time that computer simulations were admitted in court proceedings. In 2002, he was interviewed on “60 Minutes” about the subject. 

Together with his former student and longtime colleague, Thomas Wielenga, innovations in stability control were inspired, and patented, that are now standard on most new vehicles, reducing rollover fatalities worldwide.

Milt Chace was a highly intelligent, soft-spoken, patient man with a wry sense of humor. A voracious reader, he was inquisitive and well informed on a wide array of topics, from science, to politics, to Michigan football.

A loving husband, father and grandfather, Milton is survived by his wife, Sandy Fortier; his five children, Dan Chace, Ron Chace, Lesley Chace (Peter Rinehart), Pam Bylsma Kangas (Rick Kangas) and Derek Bylsma (Jennifer Baxtrom); his grandchildren, Sam and Sophie Chace, Grace (Raine) Rinehart and Merisol Rinehart; Richard, Tracy, Dillon and Abrielle (Grey) Kangas; Gabriela Baxtrom; and nine great-grandchildren.

A celebration of life for Milt Chace is scheduled for noon June 21 at the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor. In lieu of flowers, friends are encouraged to attend the celebration, or donate to The Sierra Club, Emily’s List, or Scouting America.

— Submitted by Nie Family Funeral Home