Gang Lu and the 1991 University of Iowa Massacre
Background
Gang Lu was a 28-year-old physicist and former graduate student at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Born in China in 1963, Lu studied physics at Peking University before qualifying for graduate study in the United States. He entered the University of Iowa’s highly specialized physics and astronomy program, where his research concentrated on theoretical space plasma physics.
Lu completed his doctoral degree in May 1991. His dissertation, titled “Study of the Critical Ionization Velocity Effect by Particle-in-Cell Simulation,” was supervised by Professor Christoph K. Goertz. Despite earning his doctorate, Lu reportedly became increasingly resentful toward professors, administrators and fellow researcher Linhua Shan. Shan, who had once shared living accommodations with Lu, received the university’s D.C. Spriestersbach Dissertation Prize, an honor Lu believed should have gone to him.
The prize recognized an outstanding doctoral dissertation and included a monetary award. Lu believed that receiving it could have improved his professional prospects at a time when he was struggling to secure a permanent academic or research position. He filed grievances concerning the selection process but was unsuccessful. Investigators later concluded that his anger over the award, his employment difficulties and his hostility toward specific university personnel contributed to a carefully planned attack.
Planning the Attack
The massacre was not a spontaneous act. Before the shootings, Lu obtained a .38-caliber revolver and ammunition. He also possessed a small .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol, although that weapon was not used during the attack. Lu prepared letters describing his grievances and intentions, directing some of them to news organizations and other recipients.
Several people were apparently selected because Lu blamed them for his academic disappointments. His targets included members of his dissertation committee, the chairman of the Physics and Astronomy Department, the researcher who had received the dissertation prize and a university administrator who had handled his complaints. He also reportedly intended to kill University of Iowa President Hunter Rawlings III, who was away from Iowa City on the day of the attack.
The Shooting at Van Allen Hall
On Friday, November 1, 1991, members of a theoretical space plasma physics research group assembled in Room 309 of Van Allen Hall. At approximately 3:42 p.m., Lu entered or joined the meeting carrying the concealed revolver. Several professors, researchers and students were seated around the conference table when he began firing.
Professor Christoph K. Goertz, Lu’s former doctoral adviser, was shot at close range. Lu also shot Linhua Shan, the postdoctoral researcher whose dissertation had received the Spriestersbach Prize, and Associate Professor Robert A. Smith, another member of Lu’s dissertation committee. Other people in the room escaped or were allowed to leave.
Lu then walked from the third floor to the second-floor office of Dwight R. Nicholson, chairman of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Nicholson had also served on Lu’s dissertation committee. Lu shot Nicholson inside or near his office, inflicting fatal wounds.
After attacking Nicholson, Lu returned to Room 309. Robert Smith had survived the initial gunfire and was receiving assistance from colleagues. Lu forced the people helping Smith to move away and shot Smith again, killing him. He also fired additional rounds at some of the victims already wounded in the conference room.
The Attack at Jessup Hall
Lu left Van Allen Hall and crossed the university campus to Jessup Hall, approximately three blocks away. Jessup Hall contained administrative offices, including the Office of Academic Affairs. Lu proceeded to the office of Dr. T. Anne Cleary, the university’s associate vice president for academic affairs and an official involved in reviewing academic grievances.
Lu confronted Cleary in or near her office and shot her in the head. Cleary remained alive immediately after the attack but suffered catastrophic injuries. She was transported to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, where she died on November 2, 1991.
Lu then shot 23-year-old Miya Rodolfo-Sioson, a temporary student employee working in the administrative office. Rodolfo-Sioson was not known to have participated in Lu’s academic disputes and appears to have been an unplanned victim. She survived the shooting but sustained a severe spinal injury that left her paralyzed from the neck down.
Suicide and Police Response
After shooting Rodolfo-Sioson, Lu entered another room in Jessup Hall. Police officers responding to reports of gunfire quickly surrounded and searched the building. Lu was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He died shortly after officers reached him.
The entire attack lasted approximately ten minutes. Lu fired about 16 rounds, including the shot used to kill himself. Five victims died as a direct result of the massacre, and one additional victim survived with permanent paralysis. Including Lu, six people died.
Victims
- Christoph K. Goertz, 47 – Killed on November 1, 1991, in Room 309 of Van Allen Hall at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Goertz was a professor of physics and astronomy, an internationally respected space plasma physicist and Lu’s doctoral adviser.
- Robert Alan Smith, 45 – Killed on November 1, 1991, in Room 309 of Van Allen Hall. Smith was an associate professor of physics and astronomy and a member of Lu’s dissertation committee. He survived the first volley but was shot again when Lu returned to the conference room.
- Linhua Shan, 27 – Killed on November 1, 1991, in Room 309 of Van Allen Hall. Shan was a postdoctoral research investigator in physics and astronomy. His dissertation had received the D.C. Spriestersbach Dissertation Prize that Lu had wanted.
- Dwight R. Nicholson, 44 – Killed on November 1, 1991, inside the Physics and Astronomy Department offices in Van Allen Hall. Nicholson was a professor, department chairman and member of Lu’s dissertation committee.
- Theresa Anne “T. Anne” Cleary, 56 – Shot on November 1, 1991, in Jessup Hall at the University of Iowa. Cleary was associate vice president for academic affairs and had responsibilities involving university grievances. She died at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics on November 2, 1991.
- Miya Rodolfo-Sioson, 23 – Seriously wounded on November 1, 1991, in Jessup Hall. She was a temporary student employee working in the Office of Academic Affairs. Rodolfo-Sioson survived but was paralyzed from the neck down. She later became an advocate for people with disabilities and died from cancer on December 3, 2008.
Motive and Academic Grievances
Lu’s most visible grievance concerned the dissertation prize awarded to Linhua Shan. Lu believed his own research was superior and accused faculty members of treating him unfairly. His complaints expanded beyond the prize itself and became focused on professors and administrators whom he believed had obstructed his career.
Investigators discovered that Lu had written several letters before the attack. The writings showed that he had contemplated the killings in advance and developed a list of intended targets. Although professional frustration played a significant role, the massacre cannot be attributed to a single lost award. Lu’s writings and behavior reflected an entrenched pattern of resentment, perceived humiliation and fixation on revenge.
The absence of University President Hunter Rawlings III prevented Lu from completing every apparent objective. Rawlings was in Columbus, Ohio, for a university athletic event when the shootings occurred. Other people present in Van Allen Hall survived because they escaped, hid or were not among Lu’s selected targets.
Aftermath at the University of Iowa
The killings devastated the University of Iowa community. The Physics and Astronomy Department lost several prominent members within minutes, including its chairman, two professors and a promising researcher. Classes and university activities were disrupted as students, employees and families attempted to understand the violence.
Memorial services were held for the victims, and the university established lasting commemorations. Trees were planted and memorial markers were created near the campus buildings where the attacks occurred. Annual remembrance ceremonies have continued to honor those killed and wounded.
The massacre also changed discussions about campus security, emergency communication and threats from individuals expressing targeted grievances. In 1991, large-scale shootings at American schools and universities were far less common in public awareness than they later became. The Iowa attack demonstrated that an academically successful person could plan an organized act of mass violence against professors, colleagues and administrators.
Miya Rodolfo-Sioson’s Survival
Miya Rodolfo-Sioson became the only surviving person directly shot by Lu. Her injuries required extensive medical treatment and lifelong assistance. Despite being paralyzed, she remained active in disability-rights advocacy, writing, public speaking and community work.
Rodolfo-Sioson consistently emphasized her identity and accomplishments beyond the shooting. She became known for her determination and advocacy on behalf of people facing physical and social barriers. She lived for more than 17 years after the attack before dying from inflammatory breast cancer in Berkeley, California, on December 3, 2008.
Legacy
The November 1991 University of Iowa massacre remains one of the deadliest attacks in the institution’s history. Gang Lu murdered five members of the university community, permanently injured another and ended his own life. His victims included educators, researchers and administrative employees whose work had contributed significantly to the university.
The case is frequently examined as an example of grievance-driven mass murder. Lu interpreted professional disappointment as a personal conspiracy and transformed that belief into a planned campaign of retaliation. The attack’s lasting significance rests not with the gunman’s academic frustrations, but with the lives and careers he destroyed and the community that continued to remember its victims.
