Tributes to Prof. Charlie Goebel

Charlie was a wonderful sounding-board for research in many fields in the department. His door was always open, and his technical advice was sought, and greatly appreciated by many of his colleagues. His careful analysis and wise suggestions, freely offered, were always useful. His fundamental grasp of both physics and mathematics allowed him to contribute over a very broad range of topics, and his ability to communicate clearly with his colleagues was invaluable.

On a personal note — for the better part of 30 years I enjoyed the privilege and pleasure of walking home with him after work. Our homes were both in the University Heights area. Conversations would range over both technical and non-technical topics, and provided me with a wonderful continuing extension of my education, which I immensely appreciated.

Finally, both Charlie and I were players of brass musical instruments, he the French horn and I the trumpet.  In the early 1970’s we would occasionally get together to play with a few other wind players from the department, along with Charlie’s son, John, on oboe. This was for our own amusement.  We sometimes played from string quartet scores. Charlie provided me with copies of several horn pieces which I enjoyed playing on my own instrument.

Charlie, as we liked to call him, was a legend in the physics department in numerous ways. I liked to think of him as the physicist’s physicist for his generosity in helping numerous faculty to solve their most difficult research and teaching questions. Martin Olsson and I consulted him continuously when we were writing our undergraduate books on classical mechanics and electromagnetism and he would spend hours coming up with perfect expositions. On the lighter side, Charles rode an antique bicycle but he could outride the young generation on very long trips to physics picnics in the country. On other occasions he led visitors on hikes up-over (literally) the boulders at Devils Lake Park or on cross-country ski trails on winding slopes through the forest. In Madison, Charlie regularly walked with his dog in the school forest. I benefitted so much from his kindness and friendship as did so many others. He showed humility in his lifestyle and I carry this image of him with his tan pants rolled at the cuff at the ready for his next bike commute.