We regret to inform that NCNAAPT member Scott Chan and his daughter were among those who lost their lives in the recent scuba boat fire tragedy. His longtime friend Dan Burns shared the thoughts below with us.
continue ReadingIn Memoriam – Elender Wall
I’m very sad to report the daughter of one of our longtime members and contributors Dave Wall of City College of San Francisco, Elender Wall, passed away last Monday evening from complications of thyroid cancer. She was 47 years old. Dave was well-known for his demos that involved magic tricks, and years later his daughter Elender joined our ranks. Despite her musical training in voice at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, she degreed in physics and went on to edit and distribute Dave’s textbook Introductory Physics: A Problem-Solving Approach. Continue reading “In Memoriam – Elender Wall”
In memoriam: Bill Papke
One of our longtime members passed away recently, Bill Papke. Continue reading “In memoriam: Bill Papke”
Obituary: Ken Ozawa
“It is with great sadness I learned that longtime physics professor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and friend of AAPT, Ken Ozawa, passed away March, 4, 2009. Ken worked very hard to help bring the Northern and Southern California Sections of AAPT together by hosting meetings at Cal Poly, many of which were very memorable. The national AAPT even hosted a summer meeting at Cal Poly once. He served not only as an officer of the Southern CA Section of AAPT, he also was the national President of AAPT. He was a very hard working and dedicated fellow and will be missed by all us in AAPT.”
— Paul Robinson, NCN AAPT
Obituary: Robert H. (Bob) Good
It is with great sadness I learned that Robert H. (Bob) Good passed away August 2008 after a battle with prostate cancer. He was a professor and department chair for 42 years at Cal State Hayward. Although he authored a textbook entitled “Classical Electromagnetism”, Bob was best known for his computer simulations on the Apple II platform which he distributed for $5. Worth at least 10 times that amount, they were repackaged by Laserpoint Software for $30 and ported to the PC platform for Physics Academic Software for $50, he never accepted a dime of royalties. “Give it to your brilliant student programmer–he deserves it more than I do” he told then software entrepreneur Paul Robinson (which Paul did–whose student Jay Olbernolte went on and founded FarSight Studios and later programmed for Electronic Arts). Bob was a regular at NCN AAPT as well as national AAPT meetings and known for his pithy nonetheless inspiring style. He was not flashy although his software demonstrations were sometimes spectacular–he let the physics take the credit. He was a passionate teacher who had the ability to make physics transparent for learners far-below his ability without being the least bit of condescension (a trail not always true of physics professors). He was a regularly attended NCN AAPT meetings for many years and was the recipient of NCN AAPT’s Distinguised Service Citation. Bob was 76. He will be sorely missed by all those who knew him.”
— Paul Robinson, NCN AAPT
References:
- /www.webassign.net/pas/physics_simulations/physsim.html (Physics Academic Software)
- www20.csueastbay.edu/news/category-pages/archive-pre-2009/the-view/obits/article-30.html (obituary)