B. Frazer

B. Chalmers Frazer, internationally renowned physicist, devoted husband of almost 60 years, cherished father, grandfather and great-grandfather, passed away June 23, 2010. He is fondly remembered as a kind, appreciative and distinguished man, an exceptional gentleman, scientist, scholar, and lover of music and the arts. Born on July 19, 1922 in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. Frazer travelled throughout the world, through his service in WWII, his career in scientific research and his love of foreign cultures. Dr. Frazer was raised in the Birmingham suburb of Edgewood in a cluster of family homes. Frazer Hill, the site of the former Homewood Middle School, was a landmark for many years. His father, Luther Chalmers Frazer, was a heating and plumbing supply salesman and passed on to Dr. Frazer a passion for opera. His mother, Hallie Edna McCary, obtained her Masters degree in Music and taught piano to neighborhood children. She was also a leader in the Edgewood Garden Club and a charter member of Trinity Methodist Church in Homewood, Alabama. The young Dr. Frazer excelled in school, read voraciously and displayed an early aptitude for Math and Science. However, his fondest childhood memories were those of spending days exploring the woods and abandoned mining caves in the greater Birmingham area. With his best friend John White and the family dog, Tippy, he would hike for days at a time, hunt small game and sleep on the huge rock outcroppings on Shades Mountain. On one occasion Dr. Frazer and John White rode their bicycles from Birmingham to Montgomery and back the next day. Following graduation from Phillips High School in 1939, Dr. Frazer earned recognition for the highest GPA in the freshman class of the Engineering Department at Auburn University, then known as Alabama Polytechnic Institute. His college career was interrupted when he enlisted in the War effort in October 1942, and served as a rated celestial navigator until 1946 with the United States Air Corps (now the US Air Force), attaining the rank of 1st Lieutenant Class III Navigator. He remained in the Air Force Reserve until April 1953. As a decorated aviation cadet he flew transport cargo planes primarily in the Pacific theater with the use of dead reckoning and radio aids. After the War, Dr. Frazer returned to Auburn to complete his Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering in 1947 and his Master’s degree in Chemistry in 1948. He followed his physics professor who transferred to Pennsylvania State College, where he conducted specialized studies in Crystallography and completed his PhD in Physics in 1952. Immediately upon graduation, Dr. Frazer began working as research physicist at the world famous Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and served as Physics Department Chair from 1967 to 1974, successfully guiding BNL’s largest department through a turbulent period of decimated science research funding. However, what is generally viewed as Dr. Frazer’s greatest legacy at BNL is the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) at Brookhaven, also known as the synchrotron radiation facility, for which he provided dogged leadership and unwavering determination. When budget approval was finally received for the 24 million-dollar project, Martin Blume, who headed the design committee, stated “The project would not be at its present stage if it were not for the persistence and foresight of Chalmers Frazer … who has been pursuing this goal since 1970.” The NSLS is a national user facility which provides intense focused light spanning the electromagnetic spectrum from the infrared through x-rays, enabling scientists in many fields of research to perform experiments not otherwise possible at their own laboratories. In addition to his research and administrative contributions to BNL, Dr. Frazer also served as Managing Editor for the premier academic physics journal, The Physical Review, from 1974 to1981 and moved to Washington D.C. in 1984 to assume the position with the United States Department of Energy as Chief of Solid State Physics and Materials Chemistry and 1991. Upon his retirement in 1991, Dr. Frazer received a lifetime achievement award for managing a research program of the highest quality in Solid State Physics and materials Chemistry, including the design, construction, and operation of major synchrotron and neutron research facilities which provide the Department of the Energy and the Nation an invaluable resource for research and technology. While at State College, Dr. Frazer met his future wife, Ylia Maria, then an international student from Talara, Peru. Dr. and Mrs. Frazer were married on December 21, 1951 and in the idyllic Long Island seaside town of Bellport, New York, raised three children: Hallie Mariana (now of Berkeley, California), Rowena Isabel (now of Birmingham, Alabama) and John (Jack) Chalmers (now of Lothian Maryland). Dr. and Mrs. Frazer are fondly remembered as generous hosts to the Lab community and providing a welcome home for their children’s friends. Dr. Frazer’s passion for music of all genres, coupled with his gentle, genuine and personable manner deeply impressed all who knew him. He is survived by his wife, Ylia, son Jack (Carol), daughters Rowena and Hallie, grandchildren Rowen, Cliff, Ylia, Ian and Dylan, and great-granddaughter, June. The family wishes to thank the Skilled Nursing staff at Galleria Woods, New Beacon Hospice, Home Instead, and Drs. Nancy Dunlap and Waid Shelton at the 6South Pulmonary Service at University of Alabama – Birmingham (UAB) Hospital. Visitation will be held on Saturday, June 26th from 1:00 - 3:00 at the Currie-Jefferson Funeral Home in Hoover Alabama. A funeral service will also be held at the same funeral home on Monday June 28, 2010, followed by a military commitment at the Alabama National Cemetery in Montevallo, Alabama.