Obituary of Gordon VanDalen

Dr. Gordon VanDalen professor of physics at the University of California, passed away April 30, 2009 in Prescott, Arizona. Gordon earned his B.S., Masters and Ph.D in physics from UCR where he continued to be a distinguished professor in the physics department. He was also the associate dean of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. Afterwards, he continued to serve as the physics department chair. His research career focused on his interest in particle physics, first at the ISR, and later in neutrino physics where he worked on the OPAL, LSND, and Mini-BooNE experiments. He was appointed a fellow of the American Association of Science and was awarded the UCR Distinguished Teaching Award in 1994. His dedication to teaching excellence was well-known throughout the Riverside campus. While at UCR, he devoted much of his time to redesigning the physics curriculum and laboratories where his legacy will live on. During the last seven years, Gordon and his family lived in Prescott, Arizona where he kept his physics affiliation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. His website, the VanDalen Center for the Easily Amused (VCEA) was a kind reflection of his fanciful but caring approach to physics and his desire to share it with others.

Gordon is survived by his wife, Carolyn, his son John (and wife Kate), and his son Stephen (and wife Brittany), as well as his grandson Samuel.