Dr. Ernest Ambler

Dr. Ernest Ambler Dr. Ernest Ambler, a prominent British-American physicist, died peacefully at his home in Hilton Head, South Carolina on Friday February 17, 2017 after a brief illness. Dr. Ambler was 93. Dr. Ambler was born in Queensbury, Bradford, Yorkshire, England on November 20, 1923. He received his PhD in physics from Oxford University in 1953 and moved to the US to begin work in the Cryogenic Physics Section of the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) where he met his wife Alice Virginia Seiler. In 1956, Dr. Ambler along with a team of NBS scientists collaborated with C.S. Wu and other scientists of Columbia University to conduct experiments that shattered the law of parity, a fundamental concept of nuclear physics that had been universally accepted for the previous 30 years. These results then cleared the way for theorists C. N. Yang and T.D. Lee to the reconsideration of physical theories and led to new, far-reaching discoveries regarding the nature of matter and the universe. In 1957, Yang and Lee were awarded a Nobel Prize for their theories and the results of the project propelled Dr. Ambler's career. After serving in several positions of increasing responsibility at NBS, Dr. Ambler was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to be the Director of NBS from 1978 to 1988 where he led the transition of the organization into The National Institute of Standards and Technology. He was then appointed by President Ronald Regan to be an Under Secretary of Commerce where he finished his career in 1989. Dr. Ambler received the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service in 1977, was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, was a fellow of the American Physical Society, was a member of the Washington Academy of Sciences and received an order of Civil Merit from Korea. Dr. Ambler married Alice Virginia Seiler on November 19, 1956 and had two sons Christopher and Jonathan. As a youth, he played rugby and was an avid mountain climber. In later years, he excelled at golf, enjoyed international travel and spent his summers at Scientists Cliffs on the Chesapeake Bay with his family where he was affectionately known as "Sweet Kind Lovable Uncle Ernie". He was a devoted and loving husband, father and grandfather and is survived by his wife Alice, son Jonathan, Daughter-in-laws Beth and Pam and grandchildren Paul, William, Lauren, Tori and JR. The family will hold a memorial service at The Seabrook of Hilton Head Island in South Carolina on Saturday February 25 at 11am. The Island Funeral Home and Crematory. theislandfuneralhome.com