In Memoriam

Professor Emeritus Robert Pepin of the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Minnesota passed away on January 6 at the age of 89. Pepin joined the school as a Research Associate in 1965 and joined the faculty as an assistant professor in 1966. He was a Professor of Physics from 1975 until his […]

Former astronaut Walter Cunningham, who flew into space on Apollo 7, the first crewed flight in NASA’s Apollo program, died on January 3. He was 90 years old. “Walt Cunningham was a fighter pilot, physicist, and an entrepreneur — but, above all, he was an explorer. On Apollo 7, the first launch of a crewed Apollo mission, Walt […]

Robert “Bob” Carlson died peacefully in his sleep in Reno, Nevada, surrounded by family, after a months-long battle with cancer. Carlson was born in Waseca, Minnesota, graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1963, and received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Southern California in 1970. He spent most of his career […]

Former NASA astronaut James A. McDivitt, who commanded the Gemini IV and Apollo 9 missions, died peacefully in his sleep in Tucson, Arizona, on October 13. He was 93 years old. McDivitt was born June 10, 1929, in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan, before going on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in […]