Robert Fassnacht

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Robert Fassnacht (1937 - August 24, 1970) was a physics post-doctoral researcher who was killed by a bomb on August 24, 1970, on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus.

Fassnacht was a gifted student from South Bend, Indiana. He received a Westinghouse scholarship to attend college. [1].

Fassnacht was at University of Wisconsin–Madison to pursue a doctorate degree in physics. He was involved in research in the field of super conductivity, which has potential applications to everything from power distribution to high-speed trains.

1 Bombing
2 After the bombing
- 2.1 Family
- 2.2 Responsible parties
3 See also

[edit] Bombing

On the night of August 23 and into the early morning hours of August 24, 1970, he had gone to the lab to take care of unfinished work. He and his family were slated to leave for a vacation in San Diego, California.

At the time of the explosion, Fassnacht was in his lab located in the basement level of Sterling Hall. He was in the process of cooling down his dewar with liquid nitrogen when the explosion occurred. Rescuers found him face down in about a foot of water.

The bomb had been directed at Sterling Hall as a protest against the Vietnam War. This bomb was intended to destroy the Army Math Research Center, but instead destroyed much of the physics department. Fassnacht was one of the few victims of violent protest in the United States against the Vietnam War.

[edit] After the bombing

[edit] Family

Fassnacht was survived by his wife, Stephanie, and their three children, a three-year-old son, Christopher, and twin daughters, Heidi and Karin who would turn one a month after their father's death. The family continued to live in Madison in relative quiet and anonymity for many decades after the explosion, often crossing paths with the site of their father/husband's murder. Stephanie Fassnacht completed a long career at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, occupying an office just blocks from the site of her husband's death. Christopher attended Harvard University and Cal Tech and is now a physics professor at the University of California at Davis. Heidi and Karin both graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

[edit] Responsible parties

Investigators believe that four people were involved in the bombing: brothers Karl Armstrong and Dwight Armstrong, and accomplices David Fine and Leo Burt. The Armstrongs and Fine served jail time, and were subsequently paroled. Burt has never been found. [2]