Roy Henry Garstang, an OSA Fellow Emeritus known for his work on
light pollution, died on November 1,
2009, in Boulder, Colo., U.S.A. He was
84 years old.
Born in Southport, England,
Garstang attended Cambridge University, where he received a B.A. in 1946. He
served as a scientific o;cer at the Royal
Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough,
England, from 1945-1946 and as a scientific o;cer at the Ministry of Works
from 1946-1948. He then returned
to Cambridge and went on to receive
a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1954 and,
later, an Sc.D. in physics and chemistry
in 1983.
Garstang was a research associate at
Yerkes Observatory at the University
of Chicago from 1951 to 1952. ;ere,
he worked under the supervision of
Dr. Chandrasekhar. He taught at the
University of London from 1952-1964
and served as assistant director of the
University of London Observatory from
1959 to 1964.
In 1964, Garstang came to the
United States and joined the faculty at
the University of Colorado, Boulder,
where he remained until his retirement
in 1994. During his career, he served as
a professor in physics and astrophysics
(1964-1994); chair of the Joint Institute
for Laboratory Astrophysics (1966-
1967); chair of the faculty assembly
(1988-1989); director of the Division
of Physics and Astrogeophysics (1979-
1980); and acting director of the Fiske
Planetarium (1980-1981). He was named
professor emeritus in 1994 and remained
active at the university. He continued
to write and do research for many years
after his “retirement.”
Garstang’s professional achieve-
ments included research on atomic
physics and astrophysics applications,
as well as spectroscopy of the sun,
stars and planetary nebulae. He was
Roy Henry Garstang
1925–2009 [ ]
internationally recognized for his work
on light pollution, which became his
primary research interest after 1983.
In 1984, Garstang began constructing
a light pollution model, which raised
awareness of the factors contributing
to light pollution at observatory sites
and led to e;orts to reduce urban light
pollution. He served as a consultant to
many observatories located near urban
areas and to other groups interested in
light control with regard to placement
of new observing sites and light control
ordinances to protect existing sites.
Garstang joined OSA in 1964 and
was named a Fellow in 1978. He held
leadership positions in many national
and international academic societies,
including the British Astronomical
Association (two terms as vice presi-
dent), the American Physical Society
(Fellow), the American Association for
the Advancement of Science, the Royal
Astronomical Society, the Institute of
Physics (British) and the Royal Statisti-
cal Society and Cambridge Philosophi-
cal Society. He was a prolific writer and
speaker, with more than 153 articles
in his name in scientific journals, 123
conference presentations and posters,
96 colloquia and seminars at other
universities, and several hundred lesser
articles. He also contributed 97 “Night
Sky” notes to Nature, which were pub-
lished anonymously. Garstang received
the University of Colorado’s Faculty
Assembly Excellence in Service Award
in 1990.
OSA’S 94TH ANNUAL MEETING FRONTIERS IN OPTICS 2010 LASER SCIENCE XXVI APS/DLS 26TH ANNUAL MEETING
CALL FOR PAPERS
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, USA
EXHIBIT:
October 26-27, 2010
SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
12:00 p.m. noon EDT ( 16.00 GMT)
If you would like to make a memorial
donation to the OSA Foundation in honor
of Roy Garstang, please visit www.osa-foundation.org/give.
VISIT www.frontiersinoptics.org
for information and to submit papers.
