T. Alexander Pond ’46 *53

Alec Pond died peacefully Aug. 29, 2010, at home in Vermont. He was 85.  

Born in Los Angeles, he came to Princeton in June 1942 from schools in San Marino, Calif.

After enlisting in the Navy, Alec served in the Pacific from July 1943 to September 1946, then joined the Reserve as an ensign. He graduated with honors in physics in 1947 and continued in the graduate school at Princeton, earning a Ph.D. in physics in 1953.

He became an associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis before moving to Stony Brook (N.Y.) University in 1962, where, as professor, he took a key role in the Nuclear Structure Laboratory. In 1982, Alec joined Rutgers University as executive vice president and professor of physics, retiring in 1997.

Alec served on some two dozen boards and societies, including the SUNY Stony Brook Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

He was predeceased by his wife of 48 years, Barbara Newman. Survivors include two children, Arthur Phillip Ward and Florence Pond Metcalfe, and their spouses; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. To all the family, the class extends its deep sympathy.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.