ROBERT L. STEARNS ’50

ROBERT L. STEARNS, professor emeritus of physics at Vassar College and a pioneer in the field of hyper–nuclear physics, died July 13, 2009. He was 82. The son of Carl L. Stearns of the class of 1917, who taught astronomy at Wesleyan for many years, he was a member of Phi Nu Theta (Eclectic). He received his degree with honors and with distinction in physics, and was elected to Sigma Xi. He received both a master’s degree and a PhD from the Case Institute of Technology. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army. In 1958 he joined the physics faculty at Vassar College and served as chairman of the physics and astronomy department, as well as dean of freshmen, before retiring as professor emeritus in 1993. He was the author of four books and numerous scientific articles. During the years 1957 to 1994, much of his research was done at Brookhaven National Laboratory; he was also a visiting scientist at CERN, the European nuclear physics laboratory, and at the Los Alamos (N.M.) National Laboratory. After 1980 his research shifted to pioneering work in the field of hyper–nuclear physics at Brookhaven, in collaboration with the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. Among those who survive are his wife, Frances Fowler Stearns; two sons, including Marshall Edward Stearns ’82; four grandchildren; and two sisters, Doris Stearns Swain, who is married to J.B. Swain V ’54, and Elva S. Creeger MA ’53, PhD ’74, wife of Professor Emeritus of English George R. Creeger.