Calvin H. P. Pava, an expert on adapting working conditions to make the best use of computers and other technological equipment, died last Thursday at Stanford University Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif. He was 39 and lived in Portola Valley, Calif.
He died of a brain tumor, said a spokesman for Paul Lawrence, a retired Harvard professor and former colleague.
In his book, "Managing New Office Technology -- an Organizational Strategy" (Free Press, 1983), Dr. Pava said that getting maximum results from new machines and devices might require a reorganization of management, workers and procedures. He also warned against an excessive reliance on technology, saying there was a risk of "engendering passivity" and dulling individual efforts.
He worked as an educator and a consultant to high-technology companies, especially Apple Computer Inc.
From 1978 to 1981 he taught telecommunications at New York University and helped create a master's degree program on integrating telecommunications and computers. He joined the Harvard Business School faculty in 1982 and moved to California in 1987 as a consultant and partner in Cole, Gilbourne, Pava & Arioshi, a venture capital firm specializing in new technology companies.
Dr. Pava was born in Chicago. After graduating from Colgate University in 1974 he earned a doctorate in advanced systems planning design at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1980.
Surviving is a sister, Mandy Pava of Chicago.
Chicago Tribune, Tuesday, January 5, 1993, Section 2, Page 8:6
Calvin H. P. Pava, 39, a former assistant professor at Harvard University Business School and an authority on reorganizing workplaces on the basis of new technologies, died Dec. 17 in Stanford University Hospital, Palo Alto, Calif. His death was a result of brain cancer that had been diagnosed in 1987. Born in Chicago, he graduated from Colgate University and received a doctorate from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He taught at Harvard from 1981 to 1987 and then joined the venture capital firm of Cole, Gilborune, Pava & Arioshi. Survivors include a sister. Services were held in Palo Alto.