Raymond Leroy Kelly

Raymond Leroy Kelly, an atomic spectroscopist, compiler of spectroscopic data, and emeritus professor of physics at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, California, died of complications of cancer on 29 September 2000 at a hospital in Monterey.

Born on 2 February 1921 in Rockford, Illinois, Raymond served as a cryptographic expert in the US Army Air Force during World War II. In 1947, he earned his BS in physics from the University of Wichita, Kansas. He received his doctorate in physics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1951. His doctoral thesis was entitled “Infrared Dispersion in Acetylene.”

That same year, Raymond accepted a position as a staff scientist at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in Palo Alto, California, where he began his detailed studies of ultraviolet atomic spectra. In 1960, he joined the physics department of the NPS, where he taught a range of courses in optical and atomic physics, advised thesis students, and served one term as department chairman. He became a full professor in 1967.

Raymond’s meticulous attention to detail resulted in numerous critical compilations of spectroscopic data extending from the ultraviolet to the x-ray spectral regions. During a period spanning from 1966 to 1980, he closely collaborated first with the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, DC, and later with NASA on spectral line identifications. Raymond pioneered the use of computers to both collect and electronically print the volumes listing wavelengths and energy levels of ions and atoms. His compilations proved to be extremely valuable to spectroscopists in the fields of astronomy, astrophysics, and laser and plasma physics.

In 1971, he was appointed to the National Academy of Science’s National Research Council committee on spectral lines. He also generated extensive Grotrian diagrams for ions commonly found in laboratory plasmas. In his close interactions with NRL, he initiated a program whereby naval officers pursuing advanced degrees at the NPS could obtain hands-on experience in the laboratory while, in turn, lending their naval viewpoint to the research projects in a mutually beneficial experience. Raymond retired from the NPS in 1983.

His efforts in compiling the spectroscopic data eventually culminated in a monumental three-volume set entitled Atomic and Ionic Emission Lines Below 2000 Angstroms: Hydrogen through Krypton. That work, published in 1987 by the National Bureau of Standards (now NIST), contains 35‥000 entries.

After he retired, Raymond spent much of his time as an avid photographer who had a keen eye for the beauty of nature. He brought much pleasure to his associates at the NPS and elsewhere with his beautiful photographs, some now on permanent display in the NPS library.

Raymond shared a unique and enjoyable sense of humor. He is missed as an esteemed and valuable colleague and as a close friend to his associates and former students.