William 'Bill' Klink
Gerald 'Jerry' Payne
Gerald “Jerry” L. Payne, Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Iowa, passed away on April 23, 2026. An internationally respected nuclear physicist and Fellow of the American Physical Society, he was known for his pioneering research on the quantum mechanical three-body problem, as well as his dedicated teaching and mentorship of students.
A member of the Iowa faculty from 1969 until his retirement, Jerry also provided steady leadership as department chair following the tragic 1991 shooting in the Department of Physics. He will be remembered for his scientific contributions, service to the university, and dry sense of humor.
Thomas 'Tom' Boggess
Thomas Frederick Boggess, Jr. of Crystal Beach, Texas, passed away peacefully at the age of 70 on October 29, 2025, following a courageous battle with Alzheimer's disease. Boggess was internationally recognized for his research in ultrafast optics, semiconductor superlattices, and infrared photonics. He joined the department in 1989 and served as department chair from 2001 to 2009, and was named Professor Emeritus upon his retirement in 2021.
Usha Mallik
Professor Emeritus Usha Mallik passed away Sunday, August 4 from injuries sustained in a car accident near Solon, Iowa. Dr. Mallik, an experimental particle physicist, had been involved in research at CERN and worked with a team to help build a sub-detector at the Large Hadron Collider.
Craig Kletzing
Craig Kletzing, the easygoing, humble University of Iowa professor who combined a zeal for teaching with a decorated research career in space plasma experimental physics died on August 10, 2023. He was 65.
Tribute by Allison Jaynes in the AGU SPA Section Newsletter, Aug. 24, 2023
Donald Gurnett
Donald Gurnett, a pioneering space scientist whose career as a student, teacher, and researcher at the University of Iowa spanned more than 60 years, died on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. He was 81.
John W. Schweitzer
John W. Schweitzer, Professor Emeritus, and a condensed matter physicist, died on September 28, 2023. John was born in Covington, Kentucky. He received his BA in physics from Thomas More College in Covington, and his MS and PhD degrees from the University of Cincinnati. He joined the University of Iowa faculty in 1966 and continued in the Department of Physics and Astronomy until his retirement, becoming Professor Emeritus in 2010.
Edward McCliment
Ed McCliment of Iowa City, Iowa, passed away on June 1, 2020 of Coronavirus. Ed led an adventurous life as a physics professor, which allowed him to research and travel the world. He was a beloved professor to his students at the University of Iowa for 40 years. His career took him to Germany, Russia, Brazil, Switzerland, and Fermi Lab to perform his life's work of high energy physics.