Andrei Rogers as a young man Andrei Rogers and Mary Ann

Celebrating the Life of
Andrei Rogers

September 1937 — August 18, 2026

A husband, father, and scholar.

His Story

Andrei Rogers was born in September 1937 in Harbin, China to Russian parents who escaped the Bolsheviks as teenagers and fled to China. Forced to flee again when the Chinese communist revolution descended on Shanghai following the Japanese occupation during World War II, they emigrated to California when he was a young teenager. He was the first in his family to attend college (Berkeley), then went on to earn a PhD (University of North Carolina). He married Maria before embarking on his doctorate and the two of them had 4 kids over the next decade. He spent his career as a mathematical demography professor (at Berkeley, Northwestern, and at the University of Colorado Boulder) and research scientist (at IIASA in Vienna, Austria), developing multi-regional methods in human migration modeling and authoring around 100 articles and over a dozen books. He received numerous scholarly awards including the Walter Isard Award for Distinguished Lifetime Scholarly Achievement from the North American Regional Science Association in 2000, and the Mindel C. Schepps award from the Population Association of America in 2018.

Andrei passed away peacefully while on vacation in Maine on August 18, 2026. He is survived by his wife, Mary Ann Hartigan, her two children and six grandchildren as well as his own four children, 13 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren, who will hold a private ceremony for him in September.

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A Life in Brief

A few milestones from a life that carried him across four continents.

1937

Harbin, China

The only child of Russian émigré parents.

1937–49

Shanghai

Grew up in the French Concession and was educated at École Ste. Jeanne d'Arc.

1949

Berkeley, California

Emigrated to the U.S. as a teenager, the first in his family to attend college.

1955–60

UC Berkeley

Studied architecture and met his first wife, Maria.

1960

Marriage

Married Maria and had 4 kids over the next decade.

1960–64

Chapel Hill, NC

Earned the University of North Carolina planning department's first PhD.

1964–70

UC Berkeley Faculty

Rose from lecturer to full professor in six years.

1970–75

Northwestern University

Built a new urban systems engineering and policy planning program.

1975–83

Vienna, Austria

Led the Human Settlements and Services research area at IIASA.

1983

Boulder, Colorado

Joined the University of Colorado, founding its Population Program.

1997

Widowhood

Maria dies in October. She is remembered by many for her work with the Boulder County Library on oral histories.

2000

Walter Isard Award

Received the Award for Distinguished Lifetime Scholarly Achievement.

2001

Marriage

Married Mary Ann Hartigan.

2008

Retirement

Retired from full-time teaching after 25 years at CU Boulder.

2018

Mindel C. Sheps Award

Honored by the Population Association of America.

2026

The End

Passed away peacefully on August 18, at age 88.

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Memories Wall

Read reflections shared by family and friends from around the world.

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Photo Gallery

A growing collection of photos from a life well travelled.

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Book

Read Andrei's memoir, available now on Amazon.

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