Warren Steven Ross

Warren S. Ross, 70, died July 4th, 2023, at home after a brave battle with cancer. Warren (and his twin brother, Paul) were born in New York City and raised in Yonkers, NY. Warren always wanted to be “a scientist” and started planning for college in 8th grade. He earned all three of his degrees at M.I.T., ending with his PhD. in Electrical Engineering.

Warren’s 10th-grade math teacher, Herb Grossman, introduced him to Objectivism, the philosophy of Ayn Rand. Objectivism’s principles of reason, integrity, and benevolence guided the rest of Warren’s life. He wrote extensively for the M.I.T. Objectivist newspaper, Ergo. Warren co-founded an Objectivist club in Houston, which he led for 15 years, and always pursued a better understanding of Ayn Rand’s philosophy.

In 1980, Warren moved to Houston to start a 33-year career at Exxon. Warren was cited in 2010 at his Lifetime Achievement Award of the Presidents’ ICE Award (Innovation, Creativity, and Excellence): “Dr. Warren Ross’…numerous contributions in geophysics and seismic signal processing… He developed many innovative techniques…in seismic data acquisition and processing (for which he earned patents). He won the Best Paper Award in 2007 (from the Society of Exploration Geophysics)… He is also an excellent mentor who trained many new hires…in geophysics…” A younger colleague wrote of Warren: “He had such an influence on people. Warren was such a figure at ExxonMobil”. Warren then worked 9 years at Shearwater Geoservices, enjoying his much-younger colleagues, and mentoring people, as he had always done. He retired in January.

Warren is survived by his wife of 39 years, Alice M. R. de Kok; his beloved niece, Mary Rolfe Dupuoy, her husband Thomas and infant son David, in France; his uncle, Larry Langer (who taught Warren and Paul as boys to ride horses, at his farm in NY) and his wife, Marnye, in California; his sister-in-law, Nelie Plourde, in France; his sister-in-law Rhonda Ross and two nephews, in Colorado; and by a host of friends who will remember Warren as a benevolent man of strong integrity.

Warren wrote, “I’ve lived my life to the fullest. I have no regrets, nothing but the joy of having lived a rational and happy life with the woman, the work, and the friends that I love.”