Philip Bray; Harvard professor of physics at Brown, researcher
Posted on: Friday, 26 March 2004, 06:00 CST
NOTE: This page may contain multiple obituaries for the date you've specified.
PROVIDENCE - Philip Bray, 78, of Power Street, Hazard professor of physics emeritus at Brown University, died Tuesday at Evergreen Nursing Home, East Providence.
He was the husband of Marion (Cooperman) Bray. Born in Missouri, a son of the late Harold W. and Ruth P. (Moerdyke) Bray, he had lived in Pittsburgh and Barrington before moving to Providence in 1971.
Mr. Bray had taught at Brown for 35 years, retiring in 1990 as Hazard professor of physics before being named Hazard professor of physics emeritus. He began teaching at Brown in 1955 as an associate professor of physics, became a full professor in 1958, and had been department chairman for five years.
Throughout his career he had taught classes as diverse as physics for premed students and specialized graduate-level courses, and had been a mentor to many of his students, as well as a catalyst to his colleagues.
According to Nobel laureaute and fellow physics Prof. Leon Cooper, "Phil made many contributions to physics and the Brown University physics department . . . his enormous enthusiasm energized us all."
Professor Bray was a pioneer and expert on nuclear magnetic studies, authoring more than 230 articles in scientific publications.
He was a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Ceramic Society, Sigma Xi, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
He had previously been an assistant professor of physics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y.
Mr. Bray received a bachelor's degree from Brown in 1948, and his master's and doctoral degrees from Harvard University, where his research supervisor had been Nobel Prize winner Norman F. Ramsey.
Among his many awards were the George W. Morey Award from the American Ceramic Association, and the Sir Nevill Mott Award from the Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids for his contributions to glass science. In 1996, a conference on borate crystals and glasses was held in his honor in Abington, England.
He was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1969, and the Winston Churchill Overseas Fellowship at Cambridge University in 1985.
He was an Army veteran of World War II.
A longtime member of Barrington Congregational Church, he became an active member of Providence First Unitarian Church after he moved to the city.
Besides his wife, he leaves two daughters, Carolyn Bray of Providence and Katherine Bray of Los Angeles; and a son, Philip James Bray Jr. of Providence. He was the father of the late Richard Bray, and brother of the late William H. Bray.
The funeral service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. in First Unitarian Church, Benefit Street. Burial will be private.
Related Articles
- How Great Moments In Sports History Were Made: A Physics Professor Provides Unique Insights
- A Publishing Flurry of Activity in the Science Fiction Department for Western Michigan University Physics Professor
- American Public University System's Parent Company Names Higher Education, Financial Management Experts to Board
- American Public University System's Parent Company Names Higher Education Finance Expert As Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President
- Brown University Plans Include New Walkway, Fitness Center
- Career Education Corporation's American InterContinental University Provides Accreditation Update
- Physics Professor Goes on Rage in Class
- Bijan Kumar Rao, Vcu Physics Professor, Dies ; Noted for Work on How Matter Behaves on a Very Small Scale
- Stanford Physics Professor Joins Board to Investigate Columbia Crash
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds