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Raymond Adams Obituary
(1920-2007) Professor Raymond V. Adams, the founding and long-time chair of the Physics Department at California State University, Fullerton, died on Friday, February 2, 2007. After growing up in Kansas, where he received his undergraduate education, Dr. Adams came to California and earned his Ph.D.(physics) at Caltech. Many of his early years as an academic were spent at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, before he came back to California to accept the position at Fullerton in 1960. In addition to helping to plan the physical facilities for the physics program as well as developing curriculum and hiring faculty, Dr. Adams was instrumental in formulating policies for governance at the new and growing campus. He served not only as one of the first chairs of the faculty senate, but also as a member of many important university committees. After his official retirement in 1989, he continued to visit the campus to consult with colleagues and to mentor and tutor students. Of his many contributions to CSUF, perhaps his most memorable and distinguished is his record of devoted service to his many students.
He was an energetic, conscientious, compassionate, and always generously helpful teacher.
Please contact the Physics Department at CSUF for the time and place of the memorial event for Professor Adams.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Raymond Adams
2 Entries
David Utley
February 18, 2007
I was in the first freshman class to enter Cal State Fullerton. My major was physics and Ray Adams was the physics department head. I find it interesting that Terry said that Rays advisor called him "Cosmic Ray" because just about everyone in my physics class called him Cosmic Ray without knowing the connection to Cal Tech. This was largely due to our understanding of his research preferences. The thing I remember most about Ray Adams is he used to tell us about the dipole antenna he had attached to his TV at home. Basically it was just a couple of wires that layed on his floor. He would kick the ends around in different platterns to get the reception he needed for a given channel and a given time of day. He was making a study of which patterns works in a given situation. To me that was the ultimate sign of a physicist. I agree with Terry about what a kind patient person he was. Getting the college and physics department up and running at that time took a lot of effort and time. I appreciated everything he did to make that work and still have time for us students.
Terry Lomheim
February 10, 2007
I was an student of Dr. Adams (Advanced Experimental Physics 481) in the spring of 1973. I also worked for him as an student instructor (Physics Lab 226A) in the fall of 1973. He was an excellent professor with near photographic memory and also a very nice and caring person. I ran into him again in 2001 at the Retirement Inn of Fullerton where both he and my mother-in-law were residents. I crossed paths with him in a hallway at the Residence Inn and he smiled at me. With that, my recognition of him was instant. My wife and I visited Dr. Adams in his room and we shared old memories for a couple of hours. His memory of the early days and associated events at CSUF, was truely astounding. I remember in 1973 some more senior physics students talking about a field trip they took to CalTech with Dr. Adams. They all met his Ph.D. thesis advisor, Nobel laureate Carl Anderson. Dr. Anderson called Dr. Adams "Cosmic Ray" - this was the area of his doctoral research. Dr. Adams had a major influence on me and was part of the reason I pursued graduate education and eventually completed a Ph.D. in physics. We will all miss him. He was one of a kind.
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