Thomas Brennock Day

Thomas Brennock Day passed away peacefully on 15 June 2021. Born on 7 March 1932 and raised in New York City, Thomas was the son of Frederick Davis Day and Alice Brennock Lanahan. Thomas had four sisters, Joan (Herb Mallamo), Priscilla (Irving Boekelheide), Patience (Charles Weitz), and Abbyann (Lawrence Lynch), and 1 brother, Frederick (Dorothy).

Thomas graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1952 with a BS in physics. In 1957 Day completed a PhD in physics from Cornell University. His dissertation was titled “Modes of de-excitation of mu-mesic atoms.” Upon completion of his dissertation, he began working at the University of Maryland in College Park, first as a research scientist and later as a professor in the physics department, specializing in theoretical and experimental particle physics. He was a widely published physicist and ahead of his time—notable work including “Suppression of P-State capture in (K-, p) Atoms,” Day, Snow and Sucher, PRL 1959. Of particular interest in this modern era of quantum information is his very early paper on “Demonstration of quantum mechanics in the large” published in Physical Review in February 1961 describing quantum mechanical correlations at macroscopic distances. He was named Outstanding Young Scientist at the age of 30 by the Maryland Academy of Sciences and was elected Fellow of the APS at the age of 36. In 1970 Thomas became the Vice Chancellor for Academic Planning and Policy at the College Park campus. Eventually he was appointed the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the Baltimore campus.

In 1978 Thomas moved to San Diego and became the sixth president of San Diego State University. Thomas’s 18-year tenure saw the creation of six joint doctoral programs. He also lobbied for affirmative action and promoted a “teacher-scholar” model, emphasizing faculty research. His focus on research greatly increased the number of grant contracts for San Diego State University. In addition, he expanded the campus, creating a School of Public Health, the School of Communication, and a North County campus, which eventually became California State University, San Marcos. Thomas retired in 1996.

Thomas was appointed as a member of the National Science Board from 1984 to 1996 by both President Ronald Reagan and President George H. Bush, and he served as a vice-chairman from 1990 to 1994. In this capacity, he worked closely with NSF directors in passionate support of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. He was a senior fellow of the California Council on Science and Technology and a former board member.

On 5 September 1953, Thomas married the love of his life, Anne E. Kohlbrenner, at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of Notre Dame.

Thomas was the proud father of nine children: Erica Lane (Maurice), Monica Berenter, Dr. Mark Day (Joyce), Kevin Day (Randall Posorek), Sara Day (Tom Occhetti), Dr. Timothy Day (Krista), Jonathan Day (Jamie Ward), Patrick Day (Marianne), and Adam Day (Suzi). Thomas was also the much-loved grandfather of 16 and great grandfather of 11.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Endowment To Fund The Thomas B. Day Awards For Excellence In Physics at San Diego State University.