Lawrence “Larry” Kappers, passed away on Friday, August 2, 2024. Professor Lawrence (Larry) Kappers (aka “Kap”) retired in 2009, having joined the UConn Physics Department in 1973. After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia and completing postdoctoral appointments at the University of Minnesota and Oklahoma State University, he developed an active research program in the optical and ESR spectroscopy of color-centers in inorganic insulators. Larry later became interested in the optical properties of 3d ions at high pressure and developed a diamond-anvil cell to complete the spectroscopic measurements. He was especially proud of his service to the department as director of the Perkin-Elmer Program, which led to a Masters degree in Physics with a concentration in optics, and also his involvement with the collaborative program between the physics department and the Institute for Crystal Physics in Budapest, Hungary. Larry continued his productive research contributions with a project funded by Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc. on the luminescent properties of scintillator materials.
For the full obituary, see https://www.wenigfh.com/obituaries/lawrence-larry-kappers.
Father Thaddeus J. Burch passed away May 14, 2024 in Wauwatosa, WI. He was 93 years old, a Jesuit for 75 years and a priest for 62 years. His life combined his deep religious faith with a quest and appreciation for the world of physics. In addition to his two bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and theology, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics and then a PhD at Fordham University. His PhD thesis on “A Nuclear Resonance Study of Order-Disorder in Ferromagnetic Alloys” was completed in 1968 under the direction of Professor Joseph Budnick. In 1974, Joe left Fordham to become the department chair in physics at the University of Connecticut and Thaddeus joined him as a visiting professor and a member of the Institute of Materials Sciences from 1974 to 1976. The research they completed together over the years led to 41 peer-reviewed journal articles that used NMR to probe ferromagnetic materials. Father Burch later joined Marquette University and was a professor of physics, physics department chair, and dean of the graduate school. Professor Budnick remembers Father Burch as “a dedicated and gifted student at Fordham and a creative and interactive researcher in the lab. He was a genuinely wonderful person in every way.”