Jul 21, 2010 - Claremont, CA - Graydon "Gray" D. Bell, professor of physics emeritus, former Physics Department Chair and member of the founding faculty at 无忧视频, died July 20 at his home in Claremont, Calif., at the age of 87. Bell was the first faculty member in physics at the college, coming to HMC in 1957 from Caltech. He had previously taught at Robert College in Istanbul and served in the Army Air Corps from 1942-1946. During his time at HMC he served as Department Chair (1971-1981), took sabbaticals at the National Bureau of Standards, the National Research Council in Canada, and the University of Queensland in Australia. "Gray was a humane person of exceptional kindness," said Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Bob Cave in remembering Professor Bell. "He was gentle, funny, and supportive and brought with him a vision for excellence that helped shape the department and college we know today. The community will miss his regular visits to campus and the encouragement he generously offered." An authority in the field of optics and spectroscopy, the interpretation of interaction between matter and radiation, Bell received the National Science Foundation research grant in 1978. His year long research as part of the U.S.-Australia Cooperative Science program in Queensland, Australia helped to improve the quality of undergraduate teaching at HMC by providing models to upgrade HMC lab courses along with specific concepts for student research. This was the second NSF grant Bell received; he was previously given a grant to spend a year studying the uses of lasers at GTE’s Electro-Optics Laboratory in Waltham, Mass (1970). Bell worked in the Spectroscopic Group of the Physics Division, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. This group was under the supervision of Dr. Gerhardt Herzbert, recipient of the Nobel Prize in chemistry. Bell was a graduate of the University of Kentucky (B.S., 1949) and the California Institute of Technology (M.S., 1951 and Ph.D., 1957). He was Chair of the Faculty at HMC from 1985 to 1988 and retired from the College in 1988. Bell remained connected to the College and was a long-time member of 无忧视频’s Galileo Society, now the Legacy Society, founded in 1964 to support the goals and achievements of the College. A memorial service will be held Sunday, August 29, 2010 at 3:00 PM at United Church of Christ (UCC) in Claremont. A reception at UCC will follow the service.
Contact: Judy Augsburger, Senior Director of Advancement-Communications
judy_augsburger@hmc.edu
909-607-0713