Arnold A. Strassenburg

June 8, 1927 - June 24, 2025

Arnold “Arnie” A. Strassenburg, age 98, of Madison, WI, passed away peacefully at his residence and in the company of family on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. He was born on June 8, 1927, in Victoria, Minnesota, the son of Otto Strassenburg and Wilhemine "Minna" Techter.

A graduate from Lake Forest High School, he served in the U.S. Navy from 1945-1947. He attended Illinois Institute of Technology for his B.S. and California Institute of Technology where he completed his Ph.D. dissertation in particle physics.

Strassenburg’s career began at University of Kansas, where students voted him best teacher. In 1966, he went to Stony Brook University where he continued teaching and promoting physics through national and international organizations, including the College Board and International Baccalaureate, among numerous others. He was invited to promote physics education around the world, particularly throughout Asia and Europe.

His work was recognized with the Homer L. Dodge Citation for Distinguished Service to AAPT in 1969.  In 1972 he received the Robert_A._Millikan_Award, "honored for his creative work in the teaching of physics.  He was also honored for being primarily responsible for stimulation, initiating, and making creative contributions to several major projects in physics education.  By working tirelessly with his colleagues in the profession, he has extended his unique abilities to vastly more students than he could have reached directly in several lifetimes." (https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/pte/article/10/6/313/266076/Recipient-of-Robert-A-Millikan-Lecture-Award-1972)

Strassenburg had served as staff physicist for Commission on College Physics for two years (1963-65), while on leave from the University of Kansas. In 1966 he came to the State University of New York at Stony Brook where he taught physics while spending half time as head of the AIP Division of Education and Manpower. The pressure for emphasis on education to produce more physicists had declined by the late sixties, and the governing board of AIP decided to cut back drastically on educational activities in 1971. Strassenburg was thus free in 1972 to take the job as Executive Officer of AAPT on a half-time basis, provided the office was moved to Stony Brook. John C. Muster, who had been acting as staff physicist at the Executive Office, was named acting executive officer to fill in between the time of Will Johnson's resignation and the move from Washington, DC, to Stony Brook.

The services offered by the Executive Office expanded significantly under Strassenburg's management. Except for the two years (1975-77) he spent on leave at the National Science Foundation, he served as Executive Officer from September 1972-August 1982. During the two years Strassenburg was on leave, Melba Phillips acted as Executive Officer. Strassenburg announced in 1981 his desire to return to full-time teaching by September 1, 1982.

His service in these organizations reflected his commitment to education and his deep respect for the discipline of science; he retired in 1998 at age 71. He deeply valued making a difference, and while his career accomplishments were many, he most cherished the legacy he left in and for his children.

Read more (https://www.gundersonfh.com/obituaries/Arnold-A-Strassenburg?obId=43161353)

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