- Robert Charles Pickett, 69, of Bemidji died Thursday, February 7, 2008 in Maui, Hawaii.
Funeral Services will be 10:30 am, Saturday, February 16, 2008 at the St. Philip?s Catholic Church in Bemidji, MN with Fr. Vincent Miller and Msgr. William Mehrkens officiating. Visitation will be from 4 -7 pm on Friday, Feb. 15th with a prayer service at 7 pm at the Cease Family Funeral Home in Bemidji and one hour prior to the service at the church on Saturday.
Active Casketbearers Kurt Junger, Chris Junger, Tahm Reed, John Junger, Jr., Jo Friedman and Kara Richmond. Honorary Casketbearers Ron Anderson, Dave Bahr, Andy Brown, Gordy Lindgren, Duane Sea and John Truedson.
Robert was born July 28, 1938 in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Earl and Helen (Bickell) Pickett. He was raised in St. Louis.
He received a B.S. in Physics from the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy in 1961. Following this he received a National Defense Education Fellowship and was a researcher at the Naval Undersea Research and Development Center and the U.S. Naval Ordinance Laboratory. In 1968 he received a Ph.D. in Engineering Physics from the University of Missouri at Rolla. His Post-Doctoral Studies were at the University of Arkansas and the University of Missouri. Throughout his career he continued his education by participating in numerous workshops including those of the National Science Foundation, the American Chemical Society, Rockwell-Collins, and Motorola
In 1968 he moved to Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN where he was a Physics professor from 1969 through 1975. It was there that he met Marian Vandenberg and married her on September 15, 1972. He taught at Bemidji State University from 1976 through 2000. His specialties were in Engineering Physics, Quantum Optics, Lasers, Chemical Physics, Electronics and Computers, and Computational Physics.
Throughout his professional career he earned many awards and honors, including two Outstanding Performance Awards, the Research and Creativity Award, and the Distinguished Faculty Research Award. He was honored by both Sigma Xi and Sigma Pi Sigma professional scientific societies. Among his many scientific contributions were work on the Flowing Nitrogen Laser and the Computerized Screening of Biological Specimens that was presented at a Chautauqua conference in 1981. He was the Principal Investigator on numerous research projects and grants proposals and authored many journal articles in the professional literature. He worked closely with Wolfram Research (Mathematica) at Developers Conferences and as a Visiting Scholar.
At Bemidji State University he was essential to the development of the Engineering Physics program and its new emphases in modern electronics, computer interfacing, and controls engineering. His high-level instruction and dedication to his students contributed enormously to their success in obtaining internships and competing successfully with electrical and mechanical engineering graduates for highly responsible positions in industry and in National Laboratories. A part of him lives on in each of them.
He enjoyed travel and sightseeing and had traveled to all 50 states. He loved reading to his granddaughters, playing cards and Rummy Tile with relatives and friends. He loved to talk about his work and computers. He was an active member of the Paul Bunyan Amateur Radio Club.
He is survived by his wife Marian of Bemidji; daughter- Carolyn (Darren) Olson of Luverne, MN; 2 grandchildren- Ainsley and Kaitlyn; a brother- Earl E. (Betty) Pickett of Harlingen, Texas; and a sister- Alice (John) Junger of St. Charles, MO and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Memorials are preferred to the Bemidji State University Physics Department.
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1938 - 2008 (69 years)
Obituary
