Charles Duke, retired vice president and senior research fellow at Xerox Corp., died June 28, 2019, at the age of 81.

He studied mathematics and theology at Duke University and graduated in 1959. In 1963 he earned a Ph.D. in physics from Princeton. He became one of the youngest tenured professors at the University of Illinois, as well as a renowned scholar in the fields of physics and surface science.

Duke served on presidential task forces on the sciences, was deputy director and chief scientist for the Battelle Institute of the U.S. Department of Energy, and retired as vice president and senior research fellow at Xerox.

He was one of the few people inducted into both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. After retiring, he continued learning and lecturing. Duke is remembered by his family for the long letters he wrote to them, among other endearments.

Duke is survived by his wife, Ann; two daughters, including Amy D. Hoban ’86; and five grandchildren.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.