From the 2016 Physics Alumni Newsletter
The Physics Department faculty and staff invite you to our Homecoming reception on Saturday, October 29. As for the past few years, we are having a joint reception with Chemistry and Biology and a lecture demonstrations show. The show is designed to be of interest to everyone including children. The lecture demonstrations will begin at 10 am on Saturday morning in room 126 of Winston Hall. The demonstrations will be followed at 10:45 by a reception in the lobby of Winston Hall.
I am sad to say that we lost two of our emeritus faculty members last year. George (Jack) Williams passed away on Saturday, November 8th, 2015. He was a great leader and colleague. Jack began his career at Wake Forest in 1958 as an Assistant Professor, and rose to full Professor in 1965. His area of research was condensed matter physics, and he served as Chair of the Physics Department for 16 years (1974-1990). During the 1980’s, Jack persistently sought funding from the Olin Foundation to build a new Physics building. He eventually succeeded, and the Physics building (Olin Physical Laboratory) was completed in December 1989. He was instrumental in moving the Department of Physics to a higher level when he got the university to approve the doctoral program in 1986. Jack retired in 1999, after 41 years of excellent service to students, faculty, and the whole community of Wake Forest University. We are both lucky, and proud, to have had Jack as a friend, colleague, and leader.
Robert Brehme passed away on Monday, February 22, 2016. He was a valued colleague and teacher. Bob came to Wake Forest College in 1959 filling an open faculty position created by the retirement of longtime professor William Speas. Shortly before his retirement, Bob received the John Reinhardt Award for Distinguished Teaching, Wake Forest University’s highest award for teaching excellence. He retired in 1995 and continued to teach a course without pay for 3 years. Bob was also an active participant in faculty meetings and served on many faculty committees. Two of Bob’s research achievements are so useful and important that they have been heavily referenced. One of these is a seminal paper that he wrote with his Ph.D. adviser Bryce DeWitt in 1959 and published in 1960. This paper resolved an apparent paradox concerning the emission of light by charged particles in Einstein’s general theory of relativity. It also provided important mathematical tools that are still in use today. The other was a class of diagrams he created (now called Brehme diagrams) to help students to understand how special relativity works. Bob was a member of the Physics faculty at Wake Forest University for 39 years, and we will always remember his quick wit and sharp mind.
Prof. Robert Brehme at Prof. Howard Shields Prof. Jack Williams – portrait in Olin 101 by Anne Retirement dinner – 2001. Kesler Shields.