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Death Notice
James Ray Peterson
02 June 1924 - 28 January 2006
Palo Alto, CA
SRI International
Submitted by Physics Today Editorial Staff
Published on 21 February 2006
James R. Peterson died on January 28, 2006 in Palo Alto, CA at the age of 81, following a distinguished career in experimental atomic and molecular physics research that spanned six decades. After service in the Pacific theater during World War II, Jim obtained his A. B. degree in physics at the University of California (Los Angeles) in 1948 and his Ph.D. in physics at the University of California (Berkeley) in 1956. He joined SRI International (Stanford Research Institute), Menlo Park, CA, in 1956 as one of the founding members of its Molecular Physics Laboratory and remained a member of its scientific staff until the time of his death. At SRI, Jim undertook a research program to determine the fundamental structure, properties, and reactions of positive and negative atomic and molecular ions, especially those species that compose our Earth's and other planetary atmospheres.
Jim Peterson pioneered the use of fast merged beams for these studies, utilizing its advantage of kinematically narrowing the beam-interaction energy spreads within the center-of-mass frame to achieve high resolutions. The technique was applied first with merged positive- and negative-ion beams to study ion-ion neutralization reactions, followed by merged ion and laser beams for photofragment and photodetachment studies. He later made significant contributions to the use of merged ion and electron beams for dissociative recombination measurements. Jim also pioneered the use of cesium vapor as a source of low energy electrons for the study of Rydberg states in many diatomic and triatomic molecules using dissociative charge transfer reactions and for the study of negative ions using double charge transfer techniques. Drawing upon a particular fondness for exotic, highly correlated negative ions, Jim led pioneering studies of He-, He2-, Be-, and Ca-. His work has been published as more than 100 refereed articles in scientific journals and he was a regular contributor at the DAMOP, GEC, ICPEAC, and DR conferences, frequently accompanied by his wife Lindy.
In recognition of his scientific contributions, Jim Peterson was elected to fellowship by both the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and he held sabbatical positions as a Visiting Fellow at the Joint Institute of Laboratory Astrophysics (Boulder), Visiting Professor at the University of Washington, and Fulbright Scholar at the Kammerlingh-Onnes Laboratory, Leiden.
Dozens of scientists spread across the United States, as well as in France, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, and Russia will remember Jim for his infectious exuberance as a scientific colleague and mentor, and will mourn the loss of a dear friend who freely shared with them his home, family, and enthusiasm for skiing, backpacking, cycling, music, and indeed, life itself. Jim's influence extended well beyond the scientific community through his many generous hours of volunteer work in tutoring disadvantaged children to develop their reading skills and in community organizing to provide access to affordable housing and health care for all residents of the San Francisco Peninsula. He will be greatly missed.
A memorial service for Jim Peterson will take place on February 19 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, 505 East Charleston Road, Palo Alto, CA at 3PM with a reception following. In lieu of flowers, his family requests that donations be made to the Unitarian Church, Peninsula Interfaith Action (PIA), or to the charity of one's choice.
Philip C. Cosby
SRI International
Menlo Park, CA
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