Died quietly on Jan. 4, 2014 while surrounded by loving family and friends at home in Solomon Hollow, near Coalfield, Tenn., of complications from metastatic cancer.

He was born on Nov. 7, 1940, in Adelaide, Australia. Bob attended Unley High School and graduated from the University of Adelaide with a B.Ag.Sc. degree in 1962 and with a B.Ag.Sc (Hons.) degree in agronomy in 1963. After completing a three-year term as a research officer in the South Australian Department of Agriculture, he earned a PhD degree in soil physics at the University of California, Riverside in 1969.

His early career included post-doctoral assignments at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; University of California, Riverside; and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. This experience led to a 28-year career at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he undertook environmental research of soils and whole-plant physiology. He was recognized as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1985 and a fellow of the Soil Science Society of America in 1988 for his published research contributions as well as national and international professional activities. [Read more…]