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BACKGROUND:
When SFU opened in September 1965 the physics department had 1st year, 2nd year and graduate students. At that time in the 1st year physics class there were approximately 700 students enrolled in two lecture hall classes of about 350 students each. One class was taught by the then Physics Department head Rudi Haering. The other class was taught by Klaus Rieckhoff.
The first year physics lectures were modelled on a lecture series originally offered by nobel lauriate Richard Feynman.
Classes were taught on the trimester system, although not every subject was offered every semester. The scheduling issues in combination with academic exhaustion and financial pressures led most students to take at least one semester off during their undergraduate years. Another consequence of the trimester system was that a student who completed his/her degree requirements at Christmas time did not have the degree conferred until the following June, by which time he/she was often working or taking post graduate studies in a far away city.
Math was a requirement for physics. Physics was a requirement for chemistry. Chemistry was a requirement for biology. In 1965 SFU had no Faculty of Applied Science. Hence some of the physics students were really seeking careers in chemistry, biology or high technology engineering.
The standards were high. Approximately 70% of students enrolled in 1st year physics failed at Christmas. Another 30% of the remainder failed at Easter, so the number of students successfully completing 1st year was about 20% of the original enrolment.
During the years 1965 to 1968 there was considerable interest in application of lasers to communications. This matter was studied at length within the SFU physics club, which was a route by which many physics department students came to know each other socially. Wideband laser communications acttually came into widespread use a decade later after the development of low loss single mode fibre optic cable.
REUNION ORGANIZATION:
In the early spring of 2015 the SFU Alumni Association set in motion a celebration of the SFU 50 year anniversary. The SFU Alumni Association chose September 9, 2015 as its main celebration date. Many SFU alumni now living in far away places adjusted their personal schedules and travel plans to meet the September 9, 2015 celebration date.
In August 2015 the current SFU physics department indicated that it would have a departmental celebration on September 17, 2015. Charles Rhodes, a SFU charter student and a SFU honors physics graduate now resident in Ontario immediately raised the issue of date inconsistency between the SFU departmental celebration and the alumni association organized celebration. The 8 day separation was incompatible with most remote alumni's vacation and travel plans, for which reservations had already been booked. The current physics department was inflexible with respect to the September 17, 2015 date.
The solution was simple. Persons who were associated with the SFU physics department in its early years (1965-1968) would have their own 50 year physics department reunion. Since SFU facilities were already heavily booked during the week of September 9, 2015 it was decided to hold the 50 year physics department reunion at an off campus location. After considering various possibilities the home of Leigh and Evelyn Palmer beside Deer Lake in Burnaby, B.C. was chosen and the date and time were set as September 10, 2015 fom 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM. In this respect Leigh and Evelyn Palmer generously provided, free of charge, the use of their home, front porch, large garden deck and chairs and tables from a neighbouring facility.
It was decided to charge $20 per person attending to defray the cost of catered food and incidental expenses. As it turned out cash receipts exceeded actual expenses by $210, so the excess revenue was donated to the Evelyn and Leigh Palmer Endowment Scholarship Fund.
During the last 2 weeks of August 2015 Charles Rhodes attempted to assemble an email and telephone number list of surviving persons who he and others remembered as being associated with the SFU Physics Department during the period 1965 - 1968. This list was not limited to physics students and faculty. The list included chemistry students who shared 2nd year classes with physics students, math and chemistry department faculty who taught physics students and physics department technicians and clerical personnel. In this matter he relied on his own and others dim recollection of peoples names and on Canada 411 to find them. Today people with unususal surnames are relatively easy to find via internet searches, but persons with common surnames like Bennett or MacDonald are difficult to locate because there are thousands of them in North America. There was an additional complication that some Christian names listed on SFU Alumni records did not match the Christian names used while that person was at SFU. There were others for whom, try as we might, we simply could not remember their names. Nevertheless, with our best efforts a list was prepared and is set out on this web page. Additions to this list are welcome.
DATA POSTING:
Due to work pressures related to urgent climate change and fast neutron reactor issues almost four months elapsed between the September 10, 2015 reunion and posting reunion related data on this website. The data collection was a bit chaotic, so it is possible that some mistakes have occurred. Please check the posted data and photographs and advise me of any errors. You can contact me at CSLRhodes@gmail.com or at 905 473-1704. If you possess further information or photographs that might be relevant to this web page, please forward them to me.
Regards,
Charles Rhodes
December 29, 2015
SFU PHYSICS DEPARTMENT REUNION September 10, 2015 VERSION 10 INFORMATION:
NAME | CONTACT INFORMATION | WILL ATTEND? | PHOTO |
---|---|---|---|
Tony Arrott | arrott@sfu.ca | yes | Photo, Photo, Photo, Photo Portrait |
David C. Bailey | dbailey@physics.utoronto.ca | no response | |
Janice Banks | via Leigh Palmer | ? | |
Stanley Banister | Squamish? - need contact information | ||
Peter Alexander Barnes | USA - need contact information | ||
Inder Paul Batra | need contact information Supervisor R.R. Haering | ||
Chris Baudat | nusmata@me.com | no response | Photo |
Rosario Beaudet | Hydro Quebec - need contact information | ||
Mike Billany | smiggets@shaw.ca | ||
John Betts | jebetts@shaw.ca (student of Rieckoff) | no | |
D Bailey | dbailey@physics.utoronto.ca | no response | |
Lorna Bennett | need contact information | ||
Wellington P. Chen | need contact information | ||
Chen | (student of Colbow) – Vancouver area - need contact information | ||
Chin | need contact information | ||
Siva Chinniah | 604 939-8914 | maybe | |
Patrick Washington Chung | need contact information | ||
John Cochran | deceased 2014 | ||
T Cockrell | need contact information | ||
Konrad Colbow | colbow@sfu.ca 604 926 2730 | yes | Photo |
Michael John Collier | 604 886 1946? need contact information | ||
Randy Collins | need contact information | ||
Jan Conradi | need contact information Supervisor R.R. Haering | ||
Daryl Crozier | crozier@sfu.ca | yes | Photo, Photo |
Albert Curzon | curzon@sfu.ca | yes | Photo, Photo |
Gregory Robert Davidson | need contact information | ||
Mark Dowding | mark@windgod.ca 604 506 6916 | yes | Photo |
Fred Einstein | einstein@sfu.ca 604 777 9460 | probable | |
Judy Einstein | judy_einstein@sfu.ca 604 777 9460 | probable | |
Richard Enns | renns@sfu.ca | no response (deceased?) | Photo |
Brian Farnworth | bfarnworth@shaw.ca 250 717 3381, 250 826 3381 | camping in Alberta | |
Stephen Flach | physcsec@sfu.ca 778 782 3154 | no | |
Robert Frindt | frindt@sfu.ca | yes | Photo, Photo |
Jane Frindt | wife of Robert Frindt | yes | Photo |
Peter Garnett | pmgarnett18@gmail.com 604 922 7458 | no | |
Pat Goldberg | whoopieg@gmail.com 604 984 2179 | sick | Photo, Photo |
Om Gupta | need contact information | ||
Suso Gygax | s_gygax@sfu.ca 604 926 9528 | no - deaf | Photo |
Rudi Haering | haering@telus.net | no - conflicting wedding commitment | |
Olav Hansen | deceased after career in astrophysics | ||
Ronald Brian Hansen | need contact information | ||
Currie George Harbour | cgharbour@aol.com | on vacation in Alaska | |
Ronald Harrop | harrop@cs.sfu.ca no response (deceased?) | ||
Bob Holdom | bob.holdom@utoronto.ca | no response | |
Dave Huntley | huntley@sfu.ca | yes | Photo |
Chuck Irwin | irwin@sfu.ca | yes | Photo |
Sandy Irwin | wife of Chuck Irwin | yes | Photo |
Per Joensen | joensen@telus.net | no | |
Dieter Juergens | deceased after career in geophysics | ||
Dr. Jeanne Keegan-Henry (AKA Jeanne Ganry) | jeanne.ganry@gmail.com | yes | |
James Lacomb | jlacombe@shaw.ca 250 656 7613 | yes | Photo |
Alex Peter Laks | aza@lynx.net 604 669 9117 | car problem | |
Margaret Linquist | 604 298 1797 | maybe | |
Ken Lyall | ken.lyall@shaw.ca | no response | |
Mike MacDonald | submarine construction - need contact information | ||
Howard Malm | howard@malm.ca | yes | Photo |
Philip Manders | flyermanders@gmail.com | yes | Photo |
James Gordon McCallum | (604) 858-2225? | no response | |
John McKilligan | Cdn Ice pairs champion with sister Betty - emigrated to Australia - need contact information | ||
Vivian Merchant | v7491e@telus.net 250 549 2913 | yes | Photo, Photo |
Ron Ninnis | deceased - cancer 2014 | ||
Donald Walter Nyberg | need contact information Supervisor K. Colbow | ||
John Francis O'Hanlon | need contact information Supervisor R.R. Haering | ||
Roland Olund | Husband of Margaret Linquist | maybe | |
J. Oxton | need contact information | ||
Barbara Anne Paine | 250 717 3381, 250 826 3381 | camping in Alberta | |
Evelyn Palmer | evelyn@sfu.ca 604 299 3731 | yes | Photo |
Leigh Palmer | palmer@sfu.ca 604 299 3731 | yes | Photo, Photo |
Brian Pate | bpate@telus.net | declining health | |
Christian Platteel | need contact information | ||
Murray Press | murraypress@shaw.ca | conflicting wedding commitment | |
Thomas Coin Prediger | need contact information | ||
Michael Alexander Purves | mapurves@yahoo.ca 250 370 5567 | yes | Photo |
Rosie Redfield (AKA Rosemary Gagne) | redfield@zoology.ubc.ca | conflicting UBC commitment | Photo |
Charles Rhodes | cslrhodes@gmail.com 905 473 1704 | yes | Photo, Photo |
Heather Rhodes | hrhodes1@telus.net 604 988 4998 | yes | Photo |
Bermie Rieckhoff | via Klaus Rieckhoff | yes | Photo |
Klaus Rieckhoff | k_rieckhoff@sfu.ca 604 987 5655 | yes | Photo, Photo |
Marianna Rieckhoff | via Klaus Rieckhoff | yes | Photo |
Ian Robb | Laurentian University, Sudbury? | ||
W. Sievers | need contact information | ||
Bhim Sain Sharma | need contact information Supervisor K.E. Rieckhoff | ||
Leonard John Smith | need contact information | ||
Sheila Sorensen | (too many S Sorensens in BC) -need contact information | ||
Jane Teare (wife of Daryl Crozier) | crozier@sfu.ca | no | |
Clement Harold Trenholm | ctrenhol@telusplanet.net | no – in Calgary | |
K. S. Viswanathan | kviswana@sfu.ca | no response | Photo |
John Walkley | jwalkley@shaw.ca 604 929 6532 | maybe | |
Walter Hugh Woollam | need contact information |
TABLE FOR IDENTIFYING PERSONS IN PHOTOS
PERSON # | PHOTO LINK | NAME |
---|---|---|
PERSON #3 | Photo | Vivian Merchant |
PERSON #8 | Photo | Albert Curzon |
PERSON #9 | Photo | Mike Purves |
PERSON #10 | Photo | Philip Manders |
PERSON #11 | Photo | Vivian Merchant |
PERSON #12 | Photo | Evelyn Palmer |
PERSON #13 | Photo | Marianna Rieckhoff |
PERSON #14 | Photo | Klaus Rieckhoff |
PERSON #15 | Photo | Bernie Rieckhoff |
PERSON #16 | Photo | Jim Lacombe |
PERSON #17 | Photo | Leigh Palmer |
PERSON #18 | Photo | Dr. Jeanne Keegan-Henry |
PERSON #19 | Photo | Eilidh Keegan-Henry |
PERSON #20 | Photo | Dave Huntley |
PERSON #21 | Photo | Konrad Colbow |
PERSON #22 | Photo | Robert Frindt |
PERSON #23 | Photo | Jane Frindt |
PERSON #24 | Photo | Howard Malm |
PERSON #25 | Photo | Heather Rhodes |
PERSON #26 | Photo | Sandy Irwin |
PERSON #27 | Photo | Tony Arrott |
PERSON #28 | Photo | Tony Arrott |
PERSON #29 | Photo | Tony Arrott & Chuck Irwin |
PERSON #30 | Photo | Chris Baudat |
PERSON #31 | Photo | Mark Dowding |
PERSON #32 | Photo | Daryl Crozier |
PERSON #33 | Photo | Pat Goldberg |
PERSON #34 | Photo | Pat Goldberg & husband Frank |
PERSON #35 | Photo, Photo | Charles Rhodes |
OTHER PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL:
Lasers in the Physics Department Simon Fraser University 1969-1971 by V.E. (Vivian) Merchant, October 2014 | Lasers at SFU |
SFU Physics Solid State Summer School At Whistler 1967 provided by by Ken Lyall | Photo |
SFU Physics 50th Anniversary Photos as edited by Vivian Merchant | Photo Collage |
SFU Physics 50th Anniversary Photos as edited by Vivian Merchant | Photo Collage |
TEXT MATERIAL:
LASERS AT SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY 1969-1971
Vivian Merchant was a SFU charter physics student (started in 1965) who remained at SFU for a Master's Degree in Physics during the period 1969 to 1971. He took a number of photographs which show the sophistication of the metal, glass, silica and Al2O3 experimental apparatus that SFU shops fabricated during the late 1960s. These same shops also fabricated sophisticated cryogenic apparatus. Regretfully, due to budget cuts, much of this sophisticated in-house apparatus fabrication capability was lost in subsequent years. This paper, written by Vivian Merchant in October 2014, also references various persons present at SFU and their roles during the period 1969-1971.
SFU Physics Club 1965-1966
This document is a collection of notes relating to 1965-1966, believed to originate from the files of Vivian Merchant. At that time Randy Collins was president of the SFU Physics Club. His girl friend was Lorna Bennett. Charles Rhodes, a SFU charter student in physics, was one of the youngest students on the SFU campus. Charles Rhodes received his drivers licence in 1965 just a few days before SFU opening. During the 1966 spring term Randy Collins and Charles Rhodes attended a Canadian Association of Physics undergraduate conference in Toronto. That trip was to have long term implications on the Canadian nuclear power industry that continue 50 years later. That trip, together with the war in Vietnam, led Charles Rhodes to take post graduate work in electrical engineering at the University of Toronto. In 2016 Charles Rhodes is a leading figure in promotion of liquid sodium cooled fast neutron reactors for arresting climate change.
Pat Goldberg Story(whoopieg@gmail.com)
During the period 1967-68 Pat Goldberg was a stunning young blond woman who was the only female in SFU advanced physics classes. Due to a sudden illness she was unable to attend the Physics Department 50 year reunion. However, she provided the following email text concerning her family and her work:
I am married (to Frank) for almost 20 years. We have three sons (Pete (and Tracey) in Stevston, Matt (and Delia) in Winnipeg, Matt (and Jaymie) in North Vancouver) and 5 grandchildren (Justice, Riley and Maya in Winnipeg; Carleigh in Steveston; Griffin in North Vancouver) ranging from almost one to 18 years old. We have two dogs Monty (Westie) and Zoomie (Cairn x Westie).
I taught Science 10, Physics 11, Physics 12 and Physics AP-C in Vancouver at Prince of Wales and King George Secondary and took early retirement in 2009. I am currently working on my Photography and Photoshop.
Mike Stinson Story(mikestinson42@gmail.com)
On February 1, 2023 C. Rhodes received the following information from Mike Stinson:
I was a student in the department
1967-1971, getting my B.Sc. (hon) in 1971. I remember many of the
people, particularly Darryl Crozier (I worked as an assistant in his
lab), Leigh Palmer (who was always supportive), Judy Einstein (who was
a TA for one of my classes), Brian Farnsworth, Pat Goldberg, and
Sheila Sorensen.
I stayed at SFU to do my M.Sc. under Rudi Haering (who moved to UBC
part way through my studies). After a couple years break, I moved to
Kingston and got my Ph.D. in Physics at Queen's University. I then
worked at NRC in Ottawa for the next 32 years.
LASERS AT SFU 1969-1971
Vivian Merchant was a SFU charter student (started in 1965) who remained at SFU for a Master's Degree in Physics during the period 1969 to 1971. During that period he took a number of photographs which illustrate the sophistication of the metal, glass, silica and Al2O3 experimental apparatus that SFU shops could fabricate in the late 1960s. These same shops also fabricated sophisticated cryogenic apparatus. Regretfully, due to budget cuts, much of this sophisticated apparatus fabrication capability was lost in subsequent years.
Richard (Rick) Baartman Story(baartman@triumf.ca)
Mon, May 3, 2021, 1:30 PM
to Charles.Rhodes
On May 3, 2021 C. Rhodes received the following email from Richard (Rick) Baartman:
"I was there (at SFU) 1970 to 1975 when I graduated in math-physics and won the GG gold medal. Later did M. Sc. Under Cochran. Senior scientist at Triumf now, but was hired 1980. I was contemporary with Bernie Rieckhoff, Mark Dowding, Jeannie Henry and others that were at the reunion."
Rick Baartman photo
In another email Rick indicated that no one notified him about the reunion. That was probably because C. Rhodes primarily targeted persons who attended SFU 1965 to 1968.
One person from UBC who was invited but who could not attend due to a conflicting UBC lecture commitment was Rosemary Redfield (nee Gagne) of UBC Zoology.
Sean Johnston
Emeritus Professor of Science, Technology and Society
University of Glasgow
Sep 14, 2021
Hello,
It was great to read your webpage about the 2015 reunion of the SFU physics department. I did my BSc and MSc there 1974-80 (masters under Bruce Clayman). I fondly remember my teachers David Huntley, Daryl Crozier, Suso Gygax, John Cochran, Konrad Colbow, Richard Enns, Chuck Irwin, Michael Plischke, K.S. Viswanathan, Leslie Ballentine, and particularly Evelyn Palmer, who had let me borrow a spectrometer from the Chemistry Dept while I was still in high school in Burnaby. My greetings to them all.
Subsequently I worked for 16 years as a physicist in Ontario, Quebec and England (Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Bomem Inc, Lloyd Instruments plc, Laser Monitoring Systems Ltd, University of Leeds), completed a PhD in history and philosophy of science there and, after a postdoc at University of York in history of technology, joined the University of Glasgow teaching/researching history and philosophy of science for twenty years. I ended as a professor of science, technology and society, retiring just before the Covid pandemic in 2019.
Many thanks again for your page, which I hope can be archived permanently by the University.
Charles Rhodes Story(CSLRhodes@gmail.com)
Charles Rhodes, P.Eng., B.Sc., M.A. Sc., Ph.D., is Chief Engineer of Xylene Power Ltd. and FNR Power Ltd. Dr. Rhodes is both a physicist and developmental engineer. He completed his B.Sc. requirements in Honours Physics at Simon Fraser University in 1968. Then in 1969, at an extraordinarily young age, he became a senior instructor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Toronto. He completed his M.A.Sc. requirements in 1971, became a professional engineer in 1973 and completed his Ph.D. requirements in 1974. In 1974 he was a co-founder of a group of companies later known as ADMIC.
Dr. Rhodes has had past hands on experience with:
a) Design and construction of RF, HF, VHF and UHF communications equipment;
b) Cryogenic and plasma physics;
c) Solid state device fabrication and characterization;
d) Design, manufacture, programming, installation, operation and maintenance of distributed computer systems for: energy management, energy storage, equipment monitoring and environmental control in major buildings;
e) Design, manufacture, installation and maintenance of: energy metering equipment, commercial condensing boilers and co-generation systems;
f) Utility rate matters as they relate to major buildings and to behind the meter electricity generation and energy storage systems
g) Company organization and management.
Since 2003 Dr. Rhodes has been involved in:
a) Commercial lighting control;
b) Fossil fuel pipeline safety;
c) Wind generation;
d) The Ontario Power Authority Integrated Power System Plan;
e) Astrophysical analysis of climate change;
f) Used nuclear fuel recycling and interim storage;
g) Design of dependable and interruptible electricity rates;
h) Design of liquid sodium cooled fast neutron reactors;
i) Urban siting of modular low pressure fast neutron reactors for both electricity generation and district heating;
j) Water source heat pumps for use in major highrise buildings;
k) Promotion of sustainable nuclear fuel cycles;
This web page last updated February 2, 2023.
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