Robert Fassnacht
Encyclopedia
Robert E. Fassnacht was a physics post-doctoral researcher who was killed by the bombing of Sterling Hall
on August 24, 1970 on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus.
Fassnacht was a student from South Bend, Indiana
who received a Westinghouse scholarship to attend college. He was at the University of Wisconsin–Madison pursuing post-doctoral research in the field of superconductivity
, which has potential applications including power distribution and high-speed trains.
. 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 cause of death, determined from the autopsy, was internal trauma.
As a protest against the Vietnam War
, the bomb was intended to destroy the Army Mathematics Research Center, but instead destroyed much of the physics department and severely damaged neighboring buildings.
, then Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and an acquaintance of Robert Fassnacht, by current and former members of the Physics department, including chair Susan Coppersmith, and family and friends of Robert, including his daughters Heidi and Karin.
The plaque reads:
, and accomplices David Fine
and Leo Burt
. The Armstrongs and Fine served jail time, a combined total of 12 years, and were subsequently paroled. Burt has never been found.
Sterling Hall bombing
The Sterling Hall Bombing that occurred on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus on August 24, 1970 was committed by four young people as a protest against the University's research connections with the US military during the Vietnam War...
on August 24, 1970 on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus.
Fassnacht was a student from South Bend, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
who received a Westinghouse scholarship to attend college. He was at the University of Wisconsin–Madison pursuing post-doctoral research in the field of superconductivity
Superconductivity
Superconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance occurring in certain materials below a characteristic temperature. It was discovered by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes on April 8, 1911 in Leiden. Like ferromagnetism and atomic spectral lines, superconductivity is a quantum...
, which has potential applications including power distribution and high-speed trains.
Bombing
On the night of August 23 and into the early morning hours of August 24, 1970, Fassnacht was in the lab taking care of unfinished work because he and his family were slated to leave for a vacation in San Diego, California. His lab was located in the basement of Sterling HallSterling Hall bombing
The Sterling Hall Bombing that occurred on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus on August 24, 1970 was committed by four young people as a protest against the University's research connections with the US military during the Vietnam War...
. He was in the process of cooling down his dewar
Vacuum flask
A vacuum flask is an insulating storage vessel which keeps its contents hotter or cooler than its surroundings. Invented by Sir James Dewar in 1892, the vacuum flask consists of two flasks, placed one within the other and joined at the neck...
with liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen is nitrogen in a liquid state at a very low temperature. It is produced industrially by fractional distillation of liquid air. Liquid nitrogen is a colourless clear liquid with density of 0.807 g/mL at its boiling point and a dielectric constant of 1.4...
when the explosion occurred. Rescuers found him face down in about a foot of water. The cause of death, determined from the autopsy, was internal trauma.
As a protest against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, the bomb was intended to destroy the Army Mathematics Research Center, but instead destroyed much of the physics department and severely damaged neighboring buildings.
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 turned 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 Caltech and is now a physics professor at the University of California at Davis. Heidi and Karin both graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.Commemorative plaque
On May 18, 2007 the University of Wisconsin–Madison unveiled a plaque on the side of Sterling Hall commemorating the bombing and Robert Fassnacht's death. The event was attended by John D. WileyJohn D. Wiley
John Duncan Wiley is a faculty member and former chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Wiley was named the 28th Chancellor of the University on November 10, 2000, and assumed office on January 1, 2001. He stepped down as chancellor and returned to the faculty on September 1, 2008...
, then Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and an acquaintance of Robert Fassnacht, by current and former members of the Physics department, including chair Susan Coppersmith, and family and friends of Robert, including his daughters Heidi and Karin.
The plaque reads:
IN MEMORIAM
This is the site of the Sterling Hall Bombing, which occurred at 3:40 AM on August 24, 1970. An outstanding research scientist, Dr. Robert Fassnacht, was killed in the bombing while working in his laboratory on a physics experiment studying a basic mechanism for superconductivity in metals. Three others were injured. Dr. Fassnacht was 33 years old, married, and had three young children.
Responsible parties
Investigators believe that four people were involved in the bombing: brothers Karleton Armstrong and Dwight ArmstrongDwight Armstrong
Dwight Alan Armstrong was an American anti-Vietnam War activist who was one of four persons involved in the August 24, 1970, Sterling Hall bombing on the campus University of Wisconsin–Madison, in an act of political protest against the University's research efforts on behalf of the United States...
, and accomplices David Fine
David Fine
David Sylvan Fine is an American domestic terrorist who was one of four perpetrators of the August 24, 1970, Sterling Hall bombing on the campus University of Wisconsin–Madison, in an act of political protest to the University's research efforts on behalf of the United States armed forces. The...
and Leo Burt
Leo Burt
Leo Frederick Burt was indicted in connection with the 1970 Sterling Hall bombing at the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, which killed Robert Fassnacht, a physics researcher, and injured several others...
. The Armstrongs and Fine served jail time, a combined total of 12 years, and were subsequently paroled. Burt has never been found.
Books and Resources
- Rads: The 1970 Bombing of the Army Math Research Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Its Aftermath, 1992, by Tom Bates (ISBN 0060167548)
- The Madison Bombings, 1988, by Michael Morris (ISBN 0947002308)
- Madison Newspapers Archive of the Sterling Hall Bombing