Robin ARMSTRONG

1935 - 2021

ROBIN LOUIS ARMSTRONG BA, MSc, PhD, DSc, FRSC May 14, 1935 - December 17, 2021 Dr. Robin Louis Armstrong died suddenly in the afternoon of Friday, December 17 at the age of 86. He was a major figure in Canadian physics first at the University of Toronto and subsequently at the University of New Brunswick. Robin was born in Galt and raised in nearby Hespeler (both now parts of Cambridge) Ontario. He attended Hespeler Public School from 1940 to 1949 and Preston High School from 1949 to 1954. Robin credited the excellent teaching and guidance of his Grade 13 mathematics teacher Warren Bamford for inducing him to apply for the notoriously difficult undergraduate honours program in Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry (MPC) at the University of Toronto in 1954. He completed that program on more-than full scholarship in 1958 and then went on to earn both an M.Sc. (1959) and a Ph.D. (1961) in molecular spectroscopy under the supervision of the eminent experimental physicist Professor Harry Welsh. Dr. Armstrong went to Oxford University in 1961 on a National Research Council of Canada postdoctoral fellowship where he took up nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy under Professor Nicholas Kurti. He returned to the University of Toronto in 1962 as an Assistant Professor of Physics and set up an NMR lab, which served as the basis of his supervision to completion of 16 masters and 31 doctoral theses and his work with numerous postdoctoral fellows and research associates over the course of his career. Professor Armstrong came to be regarded as a distinguished researcher in condensed matter physics with over 200 publications covering various areas of magnetic resonance, magnetic resonance imaging, and neutron diffraction. His contributions were recognized with the Herzberg Medal (1973) and the Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Physics (1990) of the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP), the University of Córdoba's Vistante Distinguido award (1987), a Doctor of Science honoris causa degree from the University of New Brunswick (2001), and appointment as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1979. They are also reflected in the fact that his current RG Score 'is higher than 97.5% of all ResearchGate members' scores.' His interest in neutron scattering studies led to a long-standing association with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, particularly with the Neutron and Solid State Physics Group at Chalk River Laboratories with whom he published a number of papers. Robin in collaboration with four other Canadian physicists (and one from Japan) conducted the first experiment in 1985 that confirmed one of the theoretical predictions (the Haldane gap) of the winners of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics. Robin was a great mentor and role model, both to his graduate students and to his children. Tributes to him by the latter are implicit in their own careers in academia, while those of many of the former are explicit in the book they compiled and presented to him on the occasion of his 75th birthday (in 2010). The book's title, You're a Good Man, Robin Armstrong!, captures succinctly the respect and admiration of the authors for his attentions to their development into successful scientists and for his fundamental decency and good humour. Robin was also a great classroom lecturer; he published with Professor Jim King in 1970 a first-year physics text-Mechanics, Waves, and Thermal Physics-that was adopted in many countries around the world. Dr. Armstrong amply demonstrated his abilities as an administrator starting at the University of Toronto where, at the beginning of 1969, he became the first Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies of the Physics department and then its Chair at the beginning of 1974. He served for 81/2 years in that capacity (having been appointed in 1978 to a second 5-year term) before becoming Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science on July 1, 1982. He served 81/4 years as Dean (having been re-appointed in 1987) before moving on at the end of September 1990 to the University of New Brunswick (UNB) to serve 53/4 years as its President and Vice Chancellor. In this capacity he initiated a major fund-raising campaign during which more than 1,200 visits over three years were made to alumni and corporate leaders from St. John's, Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia, in the United States, and in several countries in Europe and Asia. The campaign exceeded its $30 million target by almost $10 million. He also acquired a state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system that enabled UNB to set up (in 1993-94) research facilities unique in Canada. In addition to the aforementioned university positions, Dr. Armstrong was a Founding Member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) in 1981-82 and a Member of its Research Council from 1982 to 1999, a Founding Member and first President of the Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering from 1977 to 1980, President of the CAP in 1990-91, a Vice-President of the National Science and Engineering Research Council from 1994 to 1997, Special Advisor to the President of Wilfrid Laurier University from 1997 to 2000, Executive Director of the College-University Consortium Council (CUCC) from 2006 to 2008, and Chair of the Board of the Canadian Arthritis (Research) Network for close to a decade beginning in 2003. After retiring from UNB and active scientific research, Robin returned to the University of Toronto as a Professor Emeritus of Physics (in 1999). Robin was exceptional in maintaining an active and highly accomplished research program over the entirety of the 271/2 years he served as an academic administrator. He was still more exceptional in maintaining as well an active family life with his wife of over 61 years Karen and sons Keir (Catherine) and Drew, all of whom have many fond memories of time spent with him throughout their lives on leisure pursuits, home improvements, and travels both domestic and international. A private family service and cremation was held in December. A celebration of his life will take place later this year when circumstances allow. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Robin L. Armstrong Scholarship (0560001641) or the Robin L. and Karen E. Armstrong Bursary (0560013563) by specifying one or both in the Additional Information box after selecting the Campuses, Colleges and Communities category, University of Toronto campus, and President's Fund for Excellence from the page at https://engage.utoronto.ca/site/SPageServer?pagename=donate#/direct.