Professor of physics dies at 76

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Raymond Ammar, professor of physics, died Monday at his home at age 76.

Ammar taught at the University for more than 40 years and was chairman of the Department of Physics and Astronomy from 1989 to 2003. Rob Weaver, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said Ammar was a mild-mannered gentleman who greatly strengthened the physics and astronomy department by recruiting excellent faculty.

“The physics program had dwindled essentially to nothing before Ray took over as chair,” Weaver said. “He helped build it back to one of the best.”

Weaver said Ammar provided “world-class” instruction for graduate research and was heavily involved in undergraduate teaching.

Ammar was a member of the American Association of University Professors and a fellow of the American Physical Society, which strived to advance the knowledge of physics. He wrote many physics publications throughout his career.

Ammar received an A.B. in physics from Harvard University in 1953 and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago in 1959. After developing a physics program at Northwestern University, with short stays at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory, he was appointed professor of physics at the University.

Funeral services will be Friday at 2 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1011 Vermont St. Private burial will take place at Oak Hill Cemetery.

— — Edited by Mike Bontrager

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