Robert A. Gross (October 31, 1927 – February 8, 2018) was an American physicist. Gross attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, and earned a doctorate in applied physics from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. He subsequently worked for the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation. In 1960, Gross joined the

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

faculty, where he later became the Percy K. and Vida L. W. Hudson Professor of Applied Physics. He was named founding chair of Columbia's department of applied physics and nuclear engineering. Gross then led the department of mechanical engineering, and from 1982 to 1990, served as dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. He retired in 1995, having received several awards and honors throughout his career, including the

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

and a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

, as well as fellowship to both the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

and the

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecra ...

. Gross died in

Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, Orange and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 United States census, making Chapel Hill the List of municipa ...

, on February 8, 2018, aged 90.

Personal

Robert Gross was the father of

David A. Gross David A. Gross is an American lawyer and former U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy at the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. He is currently a partner in the communications pra ...

and John-Henry Gross.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gross, Robert A. 1927 births 2018 deaths University of Pennsylvania alumni Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences alumni 20th-century American physicists Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science faculty Fellows of the American Physical Society Fellows of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics American university and college faculty deans Fairchild Corporation