Obituary for Robert E. Pollock Robert E Pollock, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Physics at Indiana University, died peacefully at Hearthstone Health Campus of Parkinson’s with Lewy Body Dementia, on August 28, surrounded by his family. Bob was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, on March 2, 1936 and grew up in Hamilton, Ontario. When he was 12, the family, which included his older brother Gerry and younger brother David, moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba. He and his future wife, Jean Virtue, both graduated high school at 16 and began attending the University of Manitoba as teenagers. He graduated with a BSC (Hons) in Physics from the University of Manitoba in 1957. He then attended Princeton University where he received an MA in Physics in 1959, and he and Jean were married in September of that year. In 1963 he earned his PhD in Physics from Princeton. Later that year the family moved to England for a post- doctoral fellowship in the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell, England. Back at Princeton, he led a project to construct a Cyclotron. In 1970 when IU began construction on a Cyclotron he moved the now family of six to Bloomington and was appointed director from 1972 to 1979, when he began the design of a cooler addition and oversaw its construction. He was an admired physics researcher and teacher. He was a Fellow of the American Physical Society, he was awarded the Alexander Von Humboldt Senior U.S. Scientist Award 1985- 1988, and was a co-recipient of the A.P.S. Bonner Prize in 1992. He received the Indiana University President’s medal in April 2011. He served on many committees and panels, and consulted on building Cyclotrons around the world. His work in Physics allowed Bob to indulge his lifelong dream of travel. He visited Japan, South Africa, Russia (then the Soviet Union), Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, and most states and provinces in the US and Canada. On July 25, 1995 Bob and Jean became American Citizens. Dedicated to constantly learning, near the end of his career Bob began working in plasma physics, where he continued to do research and nurture graduate students even after retiring. Bob was always good-natured with a calm demeanor and an understated but ever present sense of humor. He had many varied interests and hobbies. Bob and his brothers had helped his father build a family cottage on Falcon Lake outside Winnipeg as a boy, and he enjoyed fishing and swimming and sailing there for many years with his own family. He loved that his children could experience their Canadian heritage, and the wilderness of Falcon Lake with its black bears, wild deer and bald eagles. He built picture frames, made jewelry, and gardened. He loved watching yacht races, European football matches, IU basketball, women’s volleyball; as well as opera, Turner Classic Movies, and the Arts Channel. He was an avid reader and an eloquent writer. Bob was truly a scientist with an artist’s soul. He is survived by his wife Jean, their children Bryan (Bloomington), Heather (CA), Jeff (wife Lori) (Indy), Jennifer (husband Dakin) Burdick (MA), Grandchildren, Corwin Burdick, Lorna Burdick (MA) The family would like to thank the staff at Hearthstone Health Campus and Heart to Heart Hospice for their kindness and care. Memorial Celebration to be held at a later date. Memories, photos or messages to the family may be left at www.allencares.com. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Robert E. Pollock please visit our Sympathy Store.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Robert E Pollock March 2 1936 August 28 2018.
Death notice for the town of: Bloomington, state: Indiana