David Lind

1918 - 2015

David Arthur Lind was born in Seattle, WA on September 12, 1918 to John Arthur and Hilda Katrina (Erickson) Lind. His brother, Frederick John Lind, preceded him in death on April 11, 1998. He is survived by his wife, Mary Dungan Lind, and children, Catherine (Stuart) Paxton of Arlington, WA, Margaret (Scott) Sanders of Albuquerque, NM, John (Elisabeth) Lind of Boulder, and Christopher (Melissa) Lind of Nashville, TN, seven grandchildren and one great grandchild. He passed away peacefully on March 6, 2015 with his son John at his bedside. Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Colorado, Dave will be remembered for his love of physics and the alpine outdoors. Graduating from high school in 1935, Dave entered the University of Washington, earning a Bachelor of Science in 1940. He was accepted for graduate study at the California Institute of Technology. Before leaving Seattle, he met and married Mary, his wife of nearly 70 years. During WWII, he left Caltech to do torpedo research at the University of Washington, receiving a United States Office of Research and Development certificate for his efforts. He returned to Caltech after the war, received his PhD in physics in 1948, and continued as a post-doctoral Research Fellow until 1950, when he was a Guggenheim Fellow at the Nobel Institute of Physics in Stockholm, Sweden and at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. In 1951 Dave joined the Physics faculty at the University of Wisconsin, Madison as an Assistant Professor. In 1956 he was hired as an Associate Professor at CU, where he remained for the rest of his academic career. His expertise was in experimental nuclear physics. Dave was a founder of the CU Nuclear Physics Laboratory, serving as Director from 1958-65. He took a lead role designing the cyclotron that was integral to the lab's research. He conducted research at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Atomic Energy Commission in Washington, D.C., and at facilities in Europe, India, and Brazil. He published numerous articles, was promoted to Full Professor in 1959, and served as Department Chair from 1974-78. He has been Professor Emeritus since he retired in 1983. Dave's love for the physical world did not end at the doors of his lab. His passion for mountain climbing and skiing led him to develop and teach a course on the physics of snow and avalanche phenomena for geographers, geologists, and snow and ice scientists at the CU Arctic and Alpine Institute. In 1996 he wrote The Physics of Skiing, published by the American Institute of Physics. He was a consultant for the National Ski Patrol Association, developing avalanche rescue beacons. He was a leader in the Colorado Mountain Club and was active with the Sierra Club, Seattle Mountaineers, and the American Alpine Club. In 1940, Dave, Fred and Helmy Beckey, Jim Crooks, and Lloyd Anderson (founder of REI) made the first ascent of Forbidden Peak in the North Cascades. Dave's REI number was 33. He taught technical climbing, led over 100 back country ski trips, and skied into his 80s, having started at 11 when he made his own skis using wood barrel planks.Dave was listed in Who's Who in America, American Men of Science, and he was a Counselor at Large of the American Physical Society. One final note: while a student at Caltech he had a part in a movie called "The Three Secrets" as a mountaineer rescuing a child from a downed plane in the Sierra Nevada. He did not pursue acting further; mountaineering never stopped. Dave was a generous, modest, good-natured man who freely shared his knowledge and interests. He provided for his family and always had time for annual car vacations and lots of skiing and hiking trips during school vacations and weekends. His was a full life. The family plans a memorial service for the end of May.