George A. Ruff *67

George died of cancer Sept. 26, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine.

Born in Bayshore, N.Y., May 10, 1941, he received a bachelor of science degree at Le Moyne College and earned a Ph.D. in physics from Princeton in 1967.

After postdoctoral work at Cornell, George taught at Bates College for 40 years, where he was a Charles A. Dana Professor of Physics and served as physics department chair and chair of the sciences division.

At Bates, George taught courses on quantum mechanics, laboratory physics, and laboratory electronics, among others. He conducted research on atomic and laser physics, including the study of ultracold atoms in magneto-optical atom traps.

While on sabbatical in 1975–76, George did research with Nobel Laureate Willis Lamb and others at the University of Arizona that yielded a co-authored paper in Physical Review Letters on the first observation of the infrared radiation spectrum of the hydrogen molecular ion.

He conducted summer research at the University of Rochester; MIT; the Stanford Research Institute; the Albert-Ludwig-Universität Freiburg in Germany; the University of Virginia; the University of Otago in New Zealand; and Technische Universität Innsbruck in Austria.

George is survived by his wife, Nancy; children Joseph, Daniel, Susan, and Arthur; and eight grandchildren.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.