Roy S. Andersen, 92
WORCESTER – Roy S. Andersen, 92, of Worcester and Chatham, MA passed away Friday, October 10, 2014 after a wonderful life filled with family and friends. Andersen was Professor Emeritus of Physics at Clark University where he taught since 1960, maintaining from the beginning that teaching young people helped keep him young. Born in Agawam, MA, son of Otto W. and Gladys Merry Andersen, he graduated from Agawam High School before attending Clark University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry in 1943.
Upon graduation, Andersen served in the US Navy from 1943 to 1946, attaining the rank of First Lieutenant and serving as one of the Navy’s first radar officers aboard the destroyer U.S.S. Mannert L. Abele. The Abele had the dubious distinction of being the only vessel in WWII to be hit by two types of Japanese suicide bombs, a kamikaze airplane and a pilot-guided rocket called an Okha bomb. Andersen chronicled his Navy time and the sinking of the Abele in his self-published book, Three Minutes Off Okinawa.
Following the war, Andersen returned to the academic world, receiving a Master’s Degree in Physics from Dartmouth College in 1948, and a Ph.D. in Physics from Duke University in 1951. Following academic appointments at Stanford University, the University of Maryland, and the University of California – Berkeley, Andersen was appointed Professor and Chairman of the Physics Department at his beloved undergraduate alma-mater, Clark University in 1960, re-establishing the Ph.D. program.
While at Clark, Andersen served as Dean of the Graduate School, deciding later to return to his true love, teaching and researching. Andersen not only nurtured undergraduate and graduate physics students, but also brought science to non-science majors through classes he developed including “Physics for Poets,” and “Astronomy.” As part of the astronomy program, Andersen built a small observatory on top of the Physics building where his students would view celestial objects, often in the middle of cold New England nights. He also shared his love of astronomy with the greater Worcester community by writing a monthly column for the Home and Leisure section of the Worcester Sunday Telegram.
Andersen was a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a NATO Senior Scientist Fellow at the University of Oslo, Norway, and author of numerous scientific research papers and a book chapter.
Outside of his academic life, Andersen was a member of the Bohemian Club of Worcester, a self-taught, award-winning sailor, and a relentless hiker and beachcomber, boater, and amateur photographer. Andersen is survived by his loving wife of 70 years, Barbara Norris Andersen a member of the first class of women at Clark University, three loving children Karen J. Andersen-Walsh of Worcester, Loring D. Andersen of Huntington, NY, and Scott W. Andersen of Redmond, WA, and four loving grandchildren, Kirby and Allison Andersen and Kirsten and Devon Walsh.
A memorial celebration of the life of Roy Andersen will be held at Tilton Hall, Higgins University Center, Clark University on Sunday, October 19th from 2pm – 4pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Roy S. Andersen Fund, Clark University Advancement Planned Giving, 950 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01610.