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Remembering Dr. Robert F. Sears
Dr. Robert F.
Sears, 57, chair of APSU’s department of physics, died April 14 of a heart attack.
Sears was
president-elect of the 10,000-member American Association of Physics Teachers, having
served as vice president and treasurer. He was a deacon at First Baptist Church,
Clarksville, and past president of the Downtown Civitan Club.
Sears joined APSU
in 1968 after earning his doctorate in physics from the University of Colorado. In a 1998
interview, Sears said he wanted to "turn-on" students to physics, those whom he
felt were "tuning out" the subject as early as junior high school.
Just prior to his death,
Sears attended a meeting in Atlanta of the American Physical Society where the 1999 Julius
Edgar Lilienfeld Prize was presented to Stephen Hawking, University of Cambridge.
Considered the leading scientist of this era, Hawking is a victim of ALS, known as Lou
Gehrig’s Disease. Although there were more than 45 Nobel Prize-winners in attendance,
Sears was most pleased with the opportunity to talk with Hawking.
The day before
his death, Sears told a colleague, "It was a terrific meeting. Meeting with Hawking
was the highlight—and will be a highlight for me for a long time."
He is survived by
his wife, Ann; two daughters Tekla Palmore and Amanda Mayes (‘97); one
son, Derek; and two granddaughters.
Memorial gifts
can be made to the First Baptist Church building fund or to The Robert F. Sears
Scholarship in Physics at APSU, P.O. Box 4417, Clarksville, TN 37044.
For more
information about the scholarship established in Sears’ memory by his friends and
family, telephone Sharon Silva at (931) 221-7127.
"Now you
know, Dr. Sears. You’ve reached the dream observatory. You know what Dark Matter is
and what Hubble’s Constant is. I’ll miss you, but whenever I look at the
constellations, I’ll remember who lit the spark within me."
Written anonymously
on memorial banner
by a student in
Sear’s astronomy class |
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Austin Peay State University
Office of Public Relations/Publications
Post Office Box 4567
Clarksville, Tenn 37044
(931) 221-7459
Maintained by: Laquita C Maxwell maxwelll@apsu.edu
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Spring '99 
