Robert Joseph Spotz

AWARD WINNING PHYSICIST AND CHEMICAL ENGINEER, ROBERT ‘BOB' SPOTZ, 96 DIES Robert Joseph 'Bob' Spotz, passed away at his home in Stephenville, TX on Tuesday, July 23, 2013, of natural causes. Since 2006 he lived with his daughter, Leslie Spotz and granddaughter, Gabrielle Spotz. A native of Johnstown, PA, he was born June 18, 1917. His parents were Charlotte Wilhelmina (Palmer) Spotz and John Franklin Spotz. An award winning physicist and chemical engineer, Spotz spent 17 years at General Electric, under contract to NASA, where as part of the Apollo space program to land on the moon from 1962 to 1969, he was on the team that designed the materials for the construction of the lunar landing module (LLM). His contribution to the materials' design was to withstand the intense heat and cold temperatures present in space, enabling the LLM to land safely on the moon and still take off to safely return to the mother Apollo spacecraft. For this Systems Thermal Analysis work he received the 1969 NASA-GE Authorship Award for his paper, "Math Model for Combustion of Burnable Solid Materials." His work also included satellite thermal design, including early work in the 1950s in photographing the earth from a meteorological satellite. He was editor of "Apollo Systems Description" the manual used for astronaut orientations. He also worked for Monsanto for several years, and was employed in warplant efforts during WWII. After the war, he worked on the design projects of Air Force ballistic missile systems. This included the development of the nose cone for the Atlas Intercontinental Missile (ICBM) and the Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM). The nose cone contained the warhead and control system of the missile. In the 1950s the Air Force ballistic missile program was given the highest priority in the nation for defense. In the early 1970s he contributed to the design of the earliest computer systems: Univac 1108, IBM 360, and GE 635 computers. He taught Thermodynamics at the University of Maryland and Heat Transfer at Drexel Institute of Technology (now Drexel University). Spotz held the Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and the Masters of Science in Physics from the University of Wisconsin. A devoted amateur violinist, Spotz played the violin avidly for over 86 years, beginning his semi-professional career as a first violinist in the Johnstown Symphony from his teenage years. During his collegiate career, Spotz performed in Glen Miller style dance bands. He went on to perform as a first violinist in the Houston Baptist University Symphony. In his 70s and 80s he still performed with the Silver Strings in Austin, TX, and during his 90s was a founding member of the Tarleton State Strings in Stephenville. His last public performance was with them on December 3, 2012 at the age of 95. He is survived by his brother, John Franklin Spotz, Jr., of Johnstown, PA; his three children: Mark Stephen Spotz, Leslie Claire Spotz, Elizabeth Grace Xavier; four grandchildren: Gabrielle Elizabeth Spotz, Seán Patrick O'Rourke, Jaclyn Grace O'Rourke, Griffin Cutler Spotz; son-in-law, Joseph Xavier; and his first wife, Dr. Ellen L. Bunyan. A private memorial service for family and close friends was held August 17, 2013 at the Stephenville Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers the family has requested donations to be sent to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.