April 4, 1997: Volume 40, Number 1

Memorial Service for Prof. Goble Set for April 12

A memorial service for Alfred T. Goble, professor of physics emeritus, who served Union for more than 50 years, will be Saturday, April 12, at 3 p.m. at the First Unitarian Society of Schenectady, 1221 Wendell Ave.

"Ted" Goble died March 12 at his home on McClellan Street. He was 88.

Born in River Falls, Wis., he earned his bachelor's and doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin. He taught there and at the University of Tulsa, Alfred University and Princeton University before joining the College's physics faculty in 1945.

He served as department chair from 1966 to 1971. After retiring in 1974, he continued his affiliation with the College as a research professor.

He was cited for his service to the College at last year's Founders Day convocation.

During his career, he spent two sabbatical years at the Clarendon Laboratories at Oxford University. During World War II, he worked on radar countermeasures at the Radio Research Laboratory at Harvard University and in England.

He was co-author of an undergraduate textbook, Elements of Modern Physics, and author of numerous articles.

Among his professional affiliations, he was a member of the American Physical Society and a founding member of the New York State Section of the APS; a member of the American Association of Physics Teachers, the Optical Society of America, and Sigma Xi, the science and engineering honor society.

Since 1947, he was a member of the First Unitarian Society of Schenectady, serving as chairman of the board of trustees.

He was former president of the Elmer Avenue School PTA and a member of the board of Friends of the Schenectady County Public Library.

A longtime amateur radio operator, he served as faculty adviser of the College's amateur radio station, W2UC.

Survivors include his wife, Ethel Frank Goble, whom he married in 1935; and three sons, Robert of Brookline, Mass., Lewis of Eugene, Ore., and Jonathan of Durham, N.C.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Physics Department, Hospice of Schenectady, or the First Unitarian Society.

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