All Posts by Crystal M. Tinch

Ralph Robert Robbins, Jr., died on 2 December 2005, in Kyle, Texas. His wife, Maria Elena Robbins, his daughters Julia Robbins Kelso and Stephanie Juarez Balles, his son Matthew Juarez, and five grandchildren survive him. Bob was on the faculty at the University of Texas from 1968 until his retirement in 2003.

Professor Michael John Seaton, hailed as the "Father of Atomic Astrophysics," passed away on May 29, 2007. He was one of the few Honorary Fellows of both the American Astronomical Society and the American Physical Society, so honored for his monumental contributions to both physics and astronomy.

James H. "Trex" Trexler, Naval Center for Space Technology, a retired scientist and astronomer, with a 50-year career at NRL died of cancer on October 22, 2005, at the age of 87.

Born in Missoula, Montana (May 18, 1918), he grew up in Dallas, Texas, and attended Southern Methodist University (SMU) Engineering School. He combined his interests in astronomy and radio communication and operated the observatory on the SMU campus. Mr. Trexler had a most interesting and rewarding career at NRL, which resulted in notable contributions in scientific and technical developments.

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of Peter Robert Wilson, a well-known and well-loved figure in the solar physics community. Peter was on the faculty of the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Sydney for 39 years, and Chair of the department for 24 of these years. He was the author or co-author of more than 80 scientific research papers and a book, Solar and Stellar Activity Cycles (1994), published by Cambridge University Press. He died suddenly of a heart attack, at his home in Glebe, Australia, in the early morning of 11 November 2007.

Heinrich Johannes Wendker, retired professor at Hamburg University, died on 3 April 2008 at the age of 69 at Reinbek near Hamburg, Germany. He was born on 30 June 1938 in Gimbte, near Munster, Westphalia, Germany. In 1958 he finished high-school and started his studies of mathematics, physics, and astronomy at Munster University. In 1960 Wendker joined the Astronomical Institute at the University and became attracted to the relatively new field of radio astronomy. In the same year he participated in a radio survey (at a wavelength of 11 cm) with the 25-m dish of Stockert observatory.

Philip Solomon, one of the pioneers and leading researchers in molecular astrophysics, died on 30 April 2008 at his apartment on the upper west side of Manhattan after a battle with cancer. His pioneering research included both theoretical and very extensive observational studies of stellar atmospheres, interstellar molecules, high redshift galaxies, and the Earth's stratosphere. Phil was Distinguished Professor at The State University of New York [SUNY], Stony Brook, where he had been since 1974.

Maurice Shapiro was an outstanding scientist and educator whose contributions spanned a range of fields: He was the leader of the "Water Effects" group (study of underwater explosions) within the Los Alamos Ordnance Division in the Manhattan project during World War II; he witnessed the Trinity test and there "shared a blanket with Hans Bethe." Shapiro understood the nature of the new weapons and helped to form the Association of Los Alamos Scientists [ALAS] to lobby for a civilian atomic-energy commission.

Helen Dodson Prince, a pioneer in the observation of solar flares, a pioneer in women's rise in the profession of astronomy, and a respected and revered educator of future astronomers, died on 4 February 2002 in Arlington, Virginia.

Ronald A. Parise, astronomer and astronaut, passed away at his home in Burtonsville, Maryland, in the presence of his family on 9 May 2008. He died of a brain tumor at age 56 after several years of valiant struggle. He was an inspiration to many students, ham operators, astronomers, and friends the world over. His enthusiasm for astronomy and space exploration was infectious. We, colleagues at Goddard Space Flight Center and Computer Sciences Corporation, treasured his contributions to space astronomy and human spaceflight.