Frank Turkot
Frank Turkot passed away on 27 October 2018, surrounded by loving family. He was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather. He was husband to the late Patricia, father to Carrie (Stephane), Suzie (Tom), Greg (Erin), and Julie (Geoff). He was grandfather to Paul, Madeline, Emily, Natalie, Valerie, Alison, Abby, Lucas, Jake, Joe, and Emerson. He was preceded in death by his brothers Paul, Vic (Jean), Karl (Dottie), and Andrew (Wanda).
Frank was born in Woodlynne, New Jersey, the son of immigrants from Eastern Europe, his father a first-generation immigrant and his mother part of the second generation. He was the youngest of five children, all boys. He and his brothers exhibited an interest in science at very young ages, and all went to apply their passion and skills to enjoy success in their chosen fields, all based in science or engineering.
Frank attended Collingswood High School and graduated at the top of his class in 1947. He excelled in sports (football as well as track and field), and he was awarded several academic scholarships to support his tuition in college. He attended the University of Pennsylvania and received a BA in physics and math in 1951, where he also participated in track and field. Subsequent to this, he attended Cornell University, where he received a doctorate in physics and math in 1959.
Frank first concentrated on scientific work on the 1.5 GeV synchrotron at Cornell. Thereafter, he worked as a research associate at Cornell for a year, and subsequently accepted a position at Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1960. He pursued particle physics research at the Cosmotron and the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS), accompanied by appointment to group leader and senior physicist in 1972. In 1974 he reconnected with one of his favorite academic leaders and mentors from Cornell, Robert R. Wilson, and pursued and accepted a position at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. His positions at Fermilab included work in the accelerator division as assistant division head and then ending his tenure as leader of the main accelerator department (Tevatron commissioning). Finally, working in the technical support division, he served as leader of the Magnet Test Facility, and he ended his career as section head, technical support. One his most enjoyable assignments included work as “Physicist on Assignment” at DESY Lab in Hamburg, Germany (1991–92).
Frank was a part of a team that set a new world record for particle accelerators in 1983: The Energy Saver at Fermilab met and exceeded its primary design goal of accelerating protons to 500 GeV in a ring of superconducting magnets (at 3:37p.m., 3 July, the energy was 512 GeV). He always commented that he felt “privileged and proud” to have played a role in many achievements during his career, remaining forever humble through his retirement from Fermilab in 1994 and move to Tucson, Arizona in 2000. He met his wife of 58 years at Cornell; she worked in the physics department at the time, and she was afforded the opportunity to get to know Frank better as she typed his thesis. Given her exposure to science and scientists like Frank, she was acutely aware of his passion for science. She often commented that she had no idea the places she would go or what she would experience, that Frank was “forever curious.” Patricia and Frank were a perfect match through their time in Illinois, a move to Germany, and then retirement in Tucson. “Just as the stars and Moon need the darkness to be seen,” they were absolutely complementary.
He shared with his family that his initial inspiration to pursue science and theoretical physics was a result of reading the book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. He was in elementary school at the time. Once science piqued his interest, he pursued his passion up to and through his retirement.
He instilled in his family the love of science, nature, the stars, the importance of curiosity, dedication to your passion, and hard work. One of his favorite quotations, which defined his approach to science and the life he lived, could be found on his desk or pinned to his bulletin board in his office: “One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe).” Frank will always be remembered as one who helped others learn, and he calmly worked through any problem. He was a patient man whose family will remain forever proud of his quiet confidence and many accomplishments, about which he rarely boasted.
