Robert Francis Adamsky

Robert F. Adamsky, Ph.D. 84, of Bridgewater, NH passed away Wednesday January 7, 2015 at Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth, NH after suffering a stroke. Robert was born August 10, 1930, on a ten-acre farm in rural Auburn, Massachusetts, the fourth of six children. His father was a Polish immigrant who worked in a steel mill, but also ran the farm and sold produce in local markets. Robert and his older brother spent many hours working in the fields and orchards to assist their father. His older sisters attended a one-room neighborhood school, and when at home, enjoyed playing school, with Robert as their pupil. They taught him to read at the age of four, and reading became a lifelong passion, both for entertainment, and for acquisition of knowledge. Robert's first job, at age nine, was working on a neighborhood gladiola farm, at fifteen cents an hour. He eventually saved enough money to buy a bicycle, which led to his second job, a paper route. While in high school, he worked for a landscape gardener during vacations. In the fields, woods, ponds and lakes of the area, he enjoyed fishing, swimming, sledding, skating, hiking and camping, and neighborhood sports. He became interested in Indian lore, and made bows and arrows, moccasins, and wigwams. At age ten, he developed an interest in Science, especially Chemistry. He could not afford a text-book, but borrowed one from the town library, and copied it into a notebook. He graduated from Auburn High School in 1948, at the top of his class. He was editor of the yearbook, and acted in two class plays. He played on the football team. He loved music, studied the violin, and played in the Worcester Youth Orchestra for several years. He also played baseball and basketball on teams in independent area leagues. Robert attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute from 1948-1952, and received a B.S. "with honor" in Chemistry. He worked his way through college with the aid of jobs in the college library and bookstore. In summers, he worked at factory jobs, and also landscape gardening. He attended graduate school at the University of New Hampshire from 1952-1953, and received an M.S. in Physical Chemistry. He performed research on systems of inorganic halides, and published his first technical paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society based on this research. At UNH he met Ruth Elizabeth Holloway of Pittsfield, NH. They were married in 1953, and drove across the country to Seattle where he studied at the University of Washington. He did research on the crystal structure of pentanamide, by use of x-ray diffraction technology, and published the results in his Thesis in 1956. As a result of this research he was awarded a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry. His first child, Ruthann, was born in Seattle in 1955. After graduation, Robert's first job was in the Research Department of the Carborundum Co., of Niagara Falls, N.Y. There he studied silicon carbide, and other refractory compounds. He published papers on the oxidation of silicon carbide, and on his discovery of a new crystalline form of silicon carbide. He synthesized new compounds of extreme hardness, and was awarded several patents for these discoveries. The Adamskys moved to Needham, MA in 1958. Robert worked at The Laboratory for Electronics in Boston, where he did research on magnetic films for use as memory devices, using electron microscopy techniques. His second child, Edward was born in Needham in 1959. In 1961 he moved to the P.R. Mallory Research Laboratory in Burlington, MA and published a number of papers on thin film growth and associated phenomena. He became recognized as an expert in the field and was an invited speaker at Gordon conferences. He was invited to present a paper at a NATO sponsored conference at the Imperial College in London. The paper was published in the book "The Use of Thin Films in Physical Investigations", Academic Press, 1966. In 1967 he worked at the NASA Electronic Research Laboratory in Cambridge, MA. He used ultra-high vacuum technology to produce semiconductor films of Germanium to be used in high-temperature environments, such as the surface of the planet Venus. He published a number of papers on this research and was awarded patents on the process used in producing the films. When the NASA lab closed in 1970 he went into teaching. He taught Chemistry at Bradford College in Haverhill and Physics at the New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord, N.H. He was a member of Sigma Xi, the American Chemical Society, and the New England Electron Microscope Society. Outside his scientific career, Robert and his wife shared a passionate interest and love of art and antiques. They bought and restored an historic Federal house in Andover, MA and furnished it with antique furniture, oriental rugs and art work appropriate to the period. In addition to becoming collectors, they were also dealers in 18th Century American furniture, architectural hardware and oriental rugs. They also bought and restored several antique houses in Newburyport, MA. The Adamskys moved to Bridgewater, N.H. in 1980 and bought 100 acres of land with a view of Newfound Lake. Ruth designed a timber-frame house which they built together with their own hands. In 1990, they began spending winters in Longboat Key, Florida. Pursuing another of his interests, Robert opened "Benfields Nursery" in Bridgewater, NH, specializing in Rhododendrons and Mountain Laurel hybrids, and ran the nursery for nine years in the 1990s. Robert is predeceased by his wife, Ruth H. Adamsky, parents John S. and Mary Ann (Bonoroski) Adamsky as well as his sisters Victoria Fontaine, Helen Gordon, and Cathryn Adamsky and his older brother John Adamsky, Jr. He is survived by his two children Ruthann O. Adamsky of Shreveport, LA and Edward H. Adamsky and his wife Madelyn of Pelham, NH, his youngest brother Paul Adamsky and his wife Carol of Prospect, ME, two grandchildren Daniel Adamsky and his wife Laura Kelly of Oakland, CA and Anthony Adamsky of Pelham, NH, as well as several nieces and nephews. In June, a memorial service for family and friends will be held at the family home in Bridgewater, NH. Please contact the family if you wish to attend. Those wishing to make donations in his memory may want to consider the Newfound Lake Region Association, the Lakes Region Conservation Trust, The UNH Cooperative Extension, New Hampshire Music Festival, or other similar organizations. To donate to the UNH Cooperative Extension, please copy and paste the following link into your browser: https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1518/giving/form.aspx?sid=1518&gid=2&pgid=426&cid=1083

Tributes

Robert Francis Adamsky

August 10, 1930 - January 7, 2015