We are greatly saddened to announce the death of Fred Koch, age 68, from cancer on September 15, 2015 at Vancouver General Hospital.

Fred grew up in the small town of Renata, B.C. on the Lower Arrow Lake. He went to Stanley Humphries High School in Castlegar where he excelled both academically and athletically. He also played guitar and bass and sang in the folk group "The Westwinds" and in the rock band "The Mods". He moved to Vancouver in 1966 to attend university and ended up living there for the rest of his life, though he was a frequent visitor to Castlegar to see family and friends. He was always proud of his Kootenay roots.

He graduated from UBC with a B.A.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering in 1970 and worked as an Environmental Engineer from 1972-1978. He received an M.A.Sc. in Civil Engineering in 1976 and began working in 1978 for the UBC Civil Engineering Department as a Research Associate where he was an important member of the Environmental Engineering Group. He devoted his career to innovative research in wastewater treatment and nutrient recovery resulting in trans-formative approaches in sewage treatment plants worldwide. He was a co-inventor of a nutrient recovery technology that has been commercialized and licensed to Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies, and was well known and respected for promoting this technology and the product it created.

From 1978 to 1998 Fred also followed his passion for music through another branch of engineering - that of music recording. He co-founded Bullfrog Studios in 1978 with then band mate Adrian Duncan. For the next 20 years under Fred and partner Maggie Scherf, Bullfrog grew to record thousands of local musical acts and award-winning albums. It also housed its own recording school, record label, Rana Records, and country music publication, The Rana Review. Fred's vision of a creative home for musicians and technicians left a lasting legacy in Vancouver's music and recording community.

From the mid 70’s, when Fred first met and recorded with C.W. Nicol, who remained his lifelong friend and mentor, Fred continued to be fascinated with the Japanese culture. His ties with the Japanese community eventually led to his meeting Akiko Yabuno, a fellow engineer, in 1999 and marrying her in 2002.

Fred had a great impact on the lives and careers of many students whom he mentored and musicians whom he supported. Fred's generous spirit, infectious laugh, important work, passion for music, and dreams for a better world live on in the hearts of his friends and family. He leaves behind his wife Akiko, his sister Alvina Koch, her husband Rick Smith, and their children Michaela and Kieran Koch-Smith. He will be missed dearly by all.