David G. Seely

David G. Seely, a professor of physics at Albion College in Michigan, died on September 3, 2020 after a courageous battle with brain cancer. In his 28-year career at Albion College, Dave was a devoted educator and advocate of the liberal arts education experience.

Born in St. Peter, Minnesota on September 14, 1958, Dave graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College and then completed his Master’s and PhD degrees at the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR, now called the Missouri University of Science and Technology, Missouri S&T), where he met his future wife, Debbie. Dave and Debbie were friends with the family of Harold Q Fuller, who may have unintentionally influenced Dave’s career path, as he also taught at Albion College, worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and spent his career educating future physicists. Dave arrived at Albion College in 1992, after teaching for one year at his alma mater at the recommendation of Richard (“Dick”) Fuller, Harold Q’s son. At Albion College, Dave educated hundreds of physics students, including Josh Cassada, who is preparing for his first space mission as a NASA astronaut on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, and Kevin Chalut, a British Royal Society Research Fellow in Physics at the Cambridge University Stem Cell Institute.

Dave received his PhD in 1990 under the guidance of Jerry Peacher at UMR in the area of accelerator-based atomic collision physics. When Dave joined Albion in 1992, he reactivated the research collaboration with University of Toledo’s Thomas Kvale, who conducted PhD research in the same lab, and the collaboration remained active and fruitful up until Dave’s untimely passing. In addition to research in atomic collision physics, Dave also conducted research in negative ion spectroscopy and photodetachment through a collaboration with Jeffrey Thompson at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Beginning in 2005, Dave became a collaborator with the atomic physics group at ORNL, where he supported the Fusion and Basic Energy Science efforts by making significant contributions to challenging merged-beam measurements of highly charged and molecular ions with atomic hydrogen. More recently at ORNL and in a collaboration with colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dave was involved in soft x-ray spectroscopy using a NASA/Goddard high-resolution microcalorimeter.

Dave embraced the teacher-scholar model, so perhaps one of his most significant contributions was engaging undergraduate students in meaningful research at all stages in their undergraduate education. He routinely mentored students in his research projects at the University of Toledo, and during Dave’s sabbaticals and research trips to ORNL, he involved students from Albion College and Pacific Union College in the experimental programs. Dave also shared his considerable lab experience with numerous graduate students and ORNL postdocs. Students brought enthusiasm and a questioning attitude, and in return Dave’s mentoring gave them a lifelong experience that they took into their own careers in education, industry, and service.

Dave served for a number of years as a faculty member of the Project Kaleidoscope 21st Century National Assembly. There he endeavored to bring state-of-the-art physics instruction and curriculum to faculty, including at Albion College. Dave relished his time with the students at Albion College, whether or not they were physics majors. On any given day, Dave could be found at one of the college sporting (or other) events or even traveling to cheer on the teams during their competitions off campus. He was known for spending long hours in his office, working on problems with students on their schedules.

Dave served as department chair for 13 years and was involved in hiring all of the current faculty and then some. Dave was also an active and attentive member of the campus community and served on a number of committees, including the Student Life Advisory Committee, the Curriculum and Resource Committee, and the Pre-Medical/Pre-Health Advisory Committee. Importantly, he served as the Faculty Chair during the national accreditation period from 2009 to 2011. Among his accolades, Dave received the College’s Mark Sheldon Putnam, ’41 and Mildred Plate Putnam, ’41 Endowed Faculty Award for Mentoring; a Campus Programs “Bridge” Award; and the Arthur Anderson New Teacher of the Year award. To honor his legacy at Albion College, Dave was posthumously awarded Emeritus status.

Dave has been described as brilliant but unassuming and having a quick wit. He was kind and selfless, and his encouraging and positive attitude raised the spirits of many of us. He left us far too soon and he will be greatly missed.