Robert Naumann, physical chemist, dies at 85

Robert Naumann

Robert Naumann

Photo courtesy of the Naumann family

Robert Bruno Alexander Naumann, a professor of chemistry and physics emeritus at Princeton University, died on Dec. 10 of Parkinson's disease in Hanover, New Hampshire. He was 85. 

Born on June 7, 1929 in Dresden, Germany, Naumann was the son of Eberhard Bruno and Elsa (Haege) Naumann zu Koenigsbrueck. He graduated from the University of California-Berkeley in 1949, accented with Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi keys, and entered Princeton's graduate program in physical chemistry.

In 1953, with a Ph.D. in chemistry from Princeton, a fresh U.S. naturalization certificate and a ham-radio license (W2FNY), Naumann chose to remain in Princeton. For 39 years, he was the University's only joint professor of chemistry and physics. 

At Princeton, he taught hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students. Naumann's scientific interests, especially in nuclear chemistry and spectroscopy, yielded countless professional articles and the discovery of 21 radioactive isotopes and 12 nuclear isomers.

"He was well-regarded in the field of nuclear chemistry," said Thomas Spiro, a professor of chemistry at the University of Washington and Naumann's longtime colleague, who served as chair of Princeton's chemistry department from 1979 to 1988. "Bob was very courtly and pleasant, and always had some interesting observation to share," Spiro said. 

In 1961 in the University Chapel, Naumann married Marina Turkevich, the daughter of Princeton chemistry professor John Turkevich and Ludmilla Turkevich. 

Jeffrey Schwartz, a professor of chemistry at Princeton, recalled going to lunch with Naumann and other colleagues  almost every day for years. "Regardless of how our conversations started, they always ended in politics," he said. The differing opinions represented at these lunches made for wonderful discussions, Schwartz said, and remembered Naumann as being "the perfect gentleman."

Naumann would leave New Jersey during summer breaks for the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. During sabbatical-year leaves, he often conducted research in Europe, including at CERN in Geneva, the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen and at the Technical University of Munich. Twice, Naumann received the Alexander von Humboldt Senior U.S. Scientist Award and, in 1988, was a visiting professor of physics at the Technical University of Munich. He was a member and fellow of many U.S. scientific societies. 

In 1992, Naumann retired to Norwich, Vermont, and was an adjunct professor of chemistry, physics and astronomy at Dartmouth College. In his precious down time, armed with a scientific "scribble pad" and a pocket radio, Naumann continued globetrotting. 

Naumann is survived by his wife, Marina: a daughter, Kristin, of Boxford, Massachusetts; and a son, Andrew, with his wife, Liz, of Vashon Island, Washington; and four grandchildren.

A requiem service and celebration of Naumann's life will be held privately in the spring. Memorial contributions would be welcomed at the Vermont Foodbank, 33 Parker Road, Barre, VT 05641, or at a charity of choice.