Charles R. Cowley

United States

1934-2024

Obituary:

On 24 August 2024, Dr. Charles R. (Chuck) Cowley passed away just short of what would have been his 90 th birthday. During his 70-year long scientific career, Cowley distinguished himself as an internationally known and respected expert in the field of astronomical spectroscopy. His contributions in the area of stellar abundances, particularly in A and B type stars with chemical compositions markedly different from that of the Sun and other “normal” stars, have been numerous and far-reaching. Equally important was his determined advocacy for the production of more and better values for fundamental atomic parameters (for example, energy levels, oscillator strengths, partition functions, etc.) that are so critical in the conduct of precision abundance work.
In the course of pursuing these twin interests, Cowley developed an extensive network of international
collaborators, including researchers at astronomical observatories and centers of laboratory
spectroscopy in Canada and throughout Europe and Asia with whom he regularly published and often
visited when on sabbatical and while attending international conferences. An examination of his
publication record reveals that nearly 60% of his papers and meeting presentations included colleagues residing outside the U.S. He relished the opportunity to travel abroad and to experience the language and culture of his hosts, especially as it afforded him the opportunity to attend (and at times participate in) local musical performances and to practice his German speaking skills.
Cowley’s past IAU affiliations strongly reflect his scientific interests. In the areas of scientific computing and data management, he was a skillful Fortran programmer whose stellar atmosphere codes and statistical routines for identifying elemental species in spectra with high line densities were highly effective, producing results in good agreement with other available synthesis programs and traditional line identification methodologies. His abiding interest in laboratory astrophysics and its deep connection to the characterization of stellar atmospheres manifested itself through his career-long efforts to produce accurate gf-values by both empirical methods based on line intensities and through ab initio calculations based on atomic structure codes. With an undergraduate degree in chemistry and a passion for rock collecting, Cowley developed a keen interest in planet formation and evolution which found outlet in his book “Introduction to Cosmochemistry” and, more recently, in his research into galactic chemical evolution and the modification of the atmospheric chemistry of exoplanet host stars by planetary engulfment.
On a personal level, Cowley was a modest individual with an insatiable curiosity who was unabashed
about asking questions in the pursuit of understanding. An effective mentor, Cowley generously shared his encyclopedic knowledge about chemically peculiar stars with students and colleagues alike, and he was scrupulous in appropriately and publicly acknowledging the contributions of his collaborators to the completion of research projects. An inveterate cyclist, dedicated chorister, skillful wordsmith, and quintessential scientist, Chuck Cowley was all of these and more. He will be sorely missed.
Contributed by Donald Bord, Robert Stencel, and Nuria Calvet
https://baas.aas.org/pub/2024i022/release/1