Robert H. Romer *55

Bob died in Amherst, Mass., Nov. 2, 2025.

Born April 15, 1931, in Chicago, Bob received a B.A. from Amherst in 1952 and a Ph.D. in physics from Princeton in 1955. He joined the faculty of Amherst, where he spent his entire career.

One of Bob’s specialties was low-temperature physics. In 1976, he authored the book Energy: An Introduction to Physics, which presented the basic principles of physics within the framework of the energy crisis. From 1988 until retiring in 2001, he was editor of the American Journal of Physics. He published articles in Physical Review, Physical Review Letters, and The Physics Teacher.

Acting on his belief in social justice, Bob spent a year as a visiting professor at Voorhees College, a historically Black college in Denmark, S.C. After retiring, Bob became interested in the history of slavery in New England. His research on slavery in Old Deerfield led to the installation of Witness Stones commemorating enslaved individuals. He wrote the books Slavery in the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts, and I am a Bitter Enemy to Slavery: An Amherst College Student Goes to War.

Predeceased by his wives Diana and Betty, Bob is survived by sons Evan, David ’80, and Theodore; grandchildren Katherine, Paul, Matthew ’18, and Ciara; and five great-grandchildren.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.