Koch, Robert H. (1929 - 2010 Oct 11)

[RJN]

http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/volumes/v57/n08/obit.html#koch

Dr. Koch was the chairman of Penn’s department of astronomy (1969-1973), undergraduate chairman of the department of astronomy and astrophysics (1984-1987), director of the Flower and Cook Observatory, and chairman of the graduate group in astronomy and astrophysics (1989-1994). He served on numerous committees, including the Natural Science Board, the Senate Executive Committee, the University Safety Committee and many others.

He published widely, and was an invited lecturer at universities and observatories worldwide. Dr. Koch continued his astronomical research, mostly on close binary stars, after his retirement. In 2009, he wrote a history of the astronomy department at Penn entitled, “Observational Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania 1751 – 2007.”