In memoriam: Robert J. Rutten (1942 - 2022)

On Wednesday September 28th, our dear colleague Rob Rutten passed away at the age of 80. Rob was a well-respected scientist with a long and productive career in high-resolution solar physics.

Elderly male scientist with glasses

Rob Rutten, was Dutch and had a long career at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Photo: Bernhard Fleck

He was adjunct professor at the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics of the University of Oslo (2002 - 2007) and continued with regular visits to our group after retirement. He still had active collaborations with members of our group. His prime scientific interests were on the dynamic deeper parts of the solar atmosphere and his studies involved observations from the Dunn Solar Telescope in New Mexico, and the Swedish Solar Telescope and Dutch Open Telescope (DOT) on La Palma. He was the project scientist for the DOT, a pioneering telescope for high resolution solar observations.

He was widely respected for his lectures on radiative transfer. He served as guest lecturer at many universities and institutes around the world, including at the legendary summerschools on radiative transfer and stellar atmospheres at University of Oslo during the late nineties and early 2000's.

We will remember him for his continuous support to young scientists and his genuine interest in the scientific progress of junior colleagues. He was outspoken in his opinion but his critique was always honest and constructive. He was a lively voice at conferences and meetings and was relentless in reminding the community about the intrinsic complexity of the dynamic solar atmosphere and warning against over-simplification.

His legacy are his extensive lecture notes and teaching materials on radiative transfer and a network of solar physicists around the globe who have had the fortune to learn from Rob.

Friends at RoCS

By Luc Rouppe van der Voort
Published Oct. 5, 2022 2:19 PM - Last modified Oct. 5, 2022 2:19 PM