ROBERT WRIGHT

Robert William Wright  (Age 94)  
On Saturday, December 9, 2017. Husband of Fern S. Wright (1954 -2002) and Dorothy Radebaugh Wright (2004 - 2008) and father of Karen Wright of Glasgow, Scotland. He was born in Atchison, Kansas on October 2, 1923 and graduated from Topeka High School. He completed two undergraduate degrees over five years in math and physics at Carnegie Tech University (now Carnegie Mellon University.) He then served in the US Navy in preparation for the planned invasion of Japan. After his discharge, he pursued a PhD in nuclear physics at the University of California Berkeley, where he also participated actively in the International House program and was a key member of the team that discovered a theta particle without hyperon in 1956. In later years, he worked at the Argonne National Laboratory outside Chicago and then headed up international nuclear safety research programs for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He is the author of a noted analysis of the 1979 Three Mile Island accident and its implications. Bob was equally passionate about politics and current affairs, history, historic ships and skiing. He spent the last years of his life in the Aspenwood Senior Living Community and was their longest resident. He will be remembered for his enthusiasm, wide-ranging intellectual curiosity and his interest in and generosity to others. Memorial service on Tuesday, December 19 at 11 a.m. at Northwood Presbyterian Church, 1200 University Blvd West, Silver Spring MD. Interment Mt. Hope Cemetery, Topeka, KS. Memorial contributions to public broadcasting.www.collinsfuneralhome.com