In Memoriam: Darrell Drickey
Darrell J. Drickey, associate leader for the Fermilab Energy Doubler project, passed away Tuesday, December 10, 1974, after a brief illness.
Dr. Drickey joined the Fermilab staff in the summer of 1974, on a year's leave of absence from his position as Associate Professor of Physics at the University of California at Los Angeles. He was also Chairman of the Fermilab Users' Executive Committee and participating in Experiment #216 at the Meson Area.
In 1970, Drickey led the U.S. scientific team carrying out the first Soviet-American scientific exchange, sponsored by the USSR State Committee on Atomic Energy and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. This was a pioneering effort in the field of international cooperation, as well as being one of the first successful measurements of the radius of the pi meson. The work was conducted at the accelerator at Serpukhov near Moscow.
Professor Drickey received a B.S. from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 1956 and a Ph.D. in experimental physics from Stanford University in 1963. He spent the year 1963-1964 at the linear accelerator at Orsay, France, and then returned to the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center where he was a staff member until 1968. During this period and subsequent to his appointment to the faculty at UCLA, he played an important r ole in a number of experiments conducted at these laboratories and also at Brookhaven National Laboratory. He is credited by his colleagues with providing inspiring leadership and significant technical insights, often the crucial difference between success and failure in the field of high energy physics.
In addition to his work on the energy doubler research at Fermilab, Dr. Drickey was continuing his study of the structure of the pion, as spokesman for Experiment #216.
An avid outdoorsman, he enjoyed fishing, hiking and camping with the same enthusiasm which so markedly characterized his scientific work.
Survivors include his widow, Martha, a son Roger and two daughters, Sheryl and Linda.
A memorial service was held at the Congregational Church of St. Charles on Thursday, December 12. A graveside service was also held in Rapid City, South Dakota.
