IN MEMORIAM
WILLIAM W. ROBERTSON
Dr. William Woodrow Robertson, age 84, passed away Friday, September
6, 2002. He is survived by his loving wife, Margaret M. Robertson;
daughter, Catherine Aicklen, and husband, Ken; sons, Jimmy Robertson
and wife, Michelle, Mike Robertson and wife, Becky; and grandchildren,
Lauren, Beth, and Matthew Aicklen, and Patrick, Jennifer, Julia,
Andrew, and Jana Robertson.
Bill Robertson was born on December 17, 1917, in Beckville,
Texas. The freshman from Uvalde, Texas, went to The University
of Texas to study physics in 1935. He received his B.A. degree
in 1941, M.A. degree in 1949, and Ph.D. in 1955 from The University
of Texas at Austin and became an instructor (1944), assistant
professor (1955), associate professor (1959), and professor of
physics (1964) at the same institution. During the war years,
he taught physics to certain Navy personnel. He continued long
past retirement (1983) on a part-time appointment in the physics
department for many more years; he kept his office in the physics
department and improved substantially with great love and enthusiasm
the teaching labs for premedical students. Upon complete retirement
(2001), he was named a professor emeritus. His association with
The University of Texas spanned a remarkable sixty-seven years.
Professor Robertson had received many professional honors—among
the first was induction into the Phi Lambda Upsilon Society as
an outstanding junior-level chemistry major. He initiated sponsorship
of the weekly colloquium in physics as a Sigma Pi Sigma member,
and he was a member of Sigma Xi and several professional and
honor societies. He was an Elected Fellow of the American Physical
Society.
During his years at UT, Professor Robertson served with distinction
in numerous University and departmental committees—in his
later years, looking back, he occasionally remarked to some of
his colleagues that he did “. . . everything and anything
but chairman . . . ” for the physics department. He initiated
the formation of the departmental Budget Council Advisory Committee
and served for years as member and chairman of that committee.
He actively chaired the Physics Department Apparatus and Equipment
Committee. He took a lively interest in developing lecture demonstration
experiments and in equipping and upgrading the teaching laboratories
in physics to synchronize them with the introductory physics
courses for premedical students, which he advanced to what these
remarkable two-semester courses and the wonderful laboratories
are today—a monumental project which made him indispensable
in the physics department for years after his official retirement.
He was a member of the Premedical Students Advisory Committee
(prior to adoption of peer advising).
Bill organized an undergraduate scholarship program in the physics
department. He chaired the University Parking and Traffic Committee.
He was a member of the University Council and served on various
committees, including the ones which revised the UT presidential
selection process and reorganized the College of Arts and Sciences
into separate colleges. For many years, he was graduate adviser
and was asked repeatedly to be acting chair of the physics department.
He supervised twenty students in their work leading to the Ph.D.
degree. Many of these graduates became university professors
and outstanding scientists in their own right.
Professor Robertson was an outstanding scientist and an experimental
physicist par excellence. His work was widely known and appreciated
in various scientific communities, e.g., atomic and molecular
spectroscopists, researchers concerned with the spectra of dense
matter (highly compressed gases, liquids and solids), in the
gaseous electronics and combustion communities, and among chemical
physicists and physical chemists in general. He had strong scientific
collaborations with several of his colleagues at UT, especially
with theorists such as Professors F.A. Matsen and E.E. Ferguson
and also with experimentalists such as D.S. Hughes. His creativity,
dedication, and drive are evidenced in well over seventy original
research papers and chapters in books which he authored or co-authored.
Bill
Robertson was an outstanding teacher and friend to many of his
colleagues. His generosity in mentoring many of his colleagues
early in their careers at UT is remembered with gratitude and affection.
His colleagues often sought and received his counsel which was
always thoughtful, kind, and wise. He was admired for his sterling
character and his example as an educator and scientist. He is missed
by everyone who knew him.
<signed>
William Powers Jr., President
The University of Texas at Austin
<signed>
Sue Alexander Greninger, Secretary
The General Faculty
This memorial resolution was prepared by a special committee consisting of Professors
Lothar Frommhold (chair), Austin M. Gleeson, and Melvin E. L. Oakes.
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