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Dr. Robert A. Granger, 90, passed away on May 12, 2019 at the Homewood Assisted living facility in The Villages Fl. Born in Evanston, IL the son of artist Kathleen Buehr and author Robert Granger, he graduated salutatorian from Newton Academy in Shoreham, VT. There he attended the University of Vermont under a scholarship to study musical composition. He next studied at the Goodman Theater of Dramatic Art in Chicago, where he played the lead in The Father which played at the Schubert Theater and then a long run in Hamlet. He was a cadet-midshipman at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy where he received the scholastic star and was number one in aptitude in his class. He then roamed the ocean to find a calling that appealed to him. Inducted into the US Army, he participated in the first atomic explosions at Frenchman's Creek, Nevada. From there he volunteered for Ranger School and was then shipped to South Korea as a forward observer for the 25th "Lighting Division". Upon being honorably discharged, he attended Pomona College in Claremont CA, to study under the eminent mathematician Professor Hugh Hamilton. During his senior year he worked evening shift at Convair Guided Missile division as a junior engineer. Graduating with a major in mathematics, he accepted a position with the Martin Aircraft Co. in Baltimore as an aeronautical engineer, working his way up to the position of Senior Staff Research Scientist. He then received his master's degree in physics from Drexel Institute of Technology, lectured extensively on applied mathematics and aeroelasticity. At the Martin Aircraft Company, he oversaw all structural dynamics research, theoretically developing the mathematical structural and unsteady aerodynamics analysis for designing tactical bombers, jet sea planes, and the Titan II ICBM. In 1960, he accepted the position of assistant professor at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. He soon earned his PhD in mathematical physics from the University of Maryland. He wrote over 950 published scientific papers, 16 mathematical-physics textbooks, a recent sci-fi novel One Is Infinity, and action adventure novels The Sand Trap, Dardo, and Razzor. He chaired numerous scientific international conferences. He made numerous videos of his various research projects and teaching technique, as well as radio programs, including being selected as the first host of The Villages "Romancing the Classics', a Sunday evening radio program. He was made honorary fellow of Caius Gronville College at Cambridge University, received the Euler Mathematical Prize and many awards like the U.S. Navy Meritorious Medal. He retired from 40 years teaching at the U.S. naval Academy as a Distinguished Professor Emeritus. He and Dr. Edward Teller (the father of the hydrogen bomb) were the first Americans to be made honorary members of the Institute of modern Physics in Greece. He is listed in Who's Who of America among several other publication sources. He was Visiting Professor at Yale University, University of Maryland, and King Fahed University in Saudi Arabia where he assisted setting up their Research Institute under the direction of Sir William Pickering. He lectured extensively throughout Europe, especially at ETH in Zurich, Switzerland, and in Brussels, Belgium where he was Director of several week-long lecture series. The visiting lectures were on aeroelasticity, fluid dynamics and mathematical physics. He was also fond of Quantum cosmology, having written a 27-chapter monograph on the subject. In addition to his teaching and vast research, he was principal engineer for the Boeing Co. in Renton, WA, where he developed the mathematical model for the transonic wing. He was a consultant for many government offices, like NASA, and ONR, as well as to private industry. His last position was the author of the weekly column in The Villages' Daily Sun's "Science Made Easy" that ran for ten years. He also taught physics, astronomy, and cosmology for several years at The Villages' Lifetime Learning College. He was an avid solo alpine mountain climber, once climbing over 40 peaks in Washington and Canada in 4 months. During that period, he lived above the tree line in ice, snow, and rock like a mountain man. In addition to composing classical music, he loved to play the piano, sing, and enjoy the opera, tennis, and bridge. But his favorite activity was teaching of midshipman at Annapolis. He strongly believed that education, especially thinking creatively was always fun. He would always preface his lectures by spending 5 minutes playing mental games with his students. He never taught out of a book, often writing his own textbooks for a course. He is survived by his son, Eric and granddaughter Amber

Published in The Capital Gazette on June 20, 2019