Otto Schnepp

{{Short description|Austrian-American scientist (1925–2019)}}

Otto Schnepp (1925 - January 2, 2019) was an Austrian-American scientist.

Born in Vienna into a Jewish family, he lived in Shanghai from 1939 to 1948, where he bounced between the Shanghai International Settlement and the French Concession as his father continued to practice medicine.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-15-mn-12725-story.html|title=Shanghai's Jews Live to Tell Story at Last|date=July 15, 1997|website=Los Angeles Times}} He spoke about his experiences in Shanghai as a featured witness in the documentary Above the Drowning Sea{{Cite web|url=https://abovethedrowningsea.com/witnesses/|title=Witnesses|first=Author|last=Rico|date=March 2017 }} He earned his B.S. in Chemistry at St. John's University in Shanghai (1947), A.B. (1948) and Ph.D. (1951) at University of California, Berkeley. He spoke German, Hebrew, French, Chinese{{According to whom|date=May 2011}}{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}}, and English.

Professor Schnepp researched the area of optical molecular spectroscopy. He also studied science and technology of modern China, U.S.-China technology transfer and physical chemistry. He was active in the field of Science Policy, especially as it concerned China.{{Cite web|url=http://dornsife.usc.edu/wrapper/cf/faculty-and-staff/search.cfm|title=Faculty & Staff > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences|website=dornsife.usc.edu}} He was a counselor for science and technology at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing from 1980 to 1982, and a former director of the USC East Asian Studies Center, 1994-2000.{{Cite web|url=https://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=64355|title=UCLA - International Institute ..::.. Error|website=www.international.ucla.edu}}

He received many honors, including the Superior Honor Award of the U.S. Department of State, USC Associates’ Award for Creative Scholarship and Research, and the USC Raubenheimer Outstanding Senior Faculty Award.{{Cite web|url=http://www.usc.edu/org/emeriti_center/pdf/spdir09.pdf|title=University of Southern California}}

Schnepp self-published [https://www.amazon.com/Roots-Lost-Roots-Found-Otto-Schnepp/dp/1545068887/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493058488&sr=8-1&keywords=otto+schnepp Roots Lost, Roots Found],{{Cite book|title=Roots Lost-Roots Found|last=Schnepp|first=Otto|date=2017-04-21|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform|isbn=9781545068885|language=English}} a memoir of his life, in April, 2017. The cover was painted by Schnepp's granddaughter, Tali Burry-Schnepp.

Otto Schnepp died on January 2, 2019, in Walnut Creek, California.{{cite web |title=In Memoriam: Otto Schnepp > News > USC Dornsife |url=https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/2942/in-memoriam-otto-schnepp/ |website=dornsife.usc.edu |accessdate=30 January 2019 |language=en}}