As part of the Focas on Arts and Sciences week, on Thursday, Feb. 23, our distinguished alumni will make public presentations.
Dr. Stair
One of the speakers, A.T. Stair, has an MS in Math from OU (’56) and a PhD from OU in Physics.
A.T. Stair’s Bio:
Stair grew up on a dairy farm near Canton, Okla. before heading to OU. While at OU, he was active in Delta Tau Delta fraternity, the Air Force ROTC and he developed his life-long interest in skiing and table tennis.
After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from OU, Stair served in the United States Air Force as a 1st Lieutenant to the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory in Boston. After two years of active duty, he resigned to become a civilian scientist at the lab. He also lectured in applied physics at the Lowell Technological Institute in Massachusetts. In 1962, he and Doran Baker established the Space Dynamics Lab at Utah State University.
Stair continued to study the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium in the upper atmosphere and became a branch chief within the laboratory and the scientific director for NLTE research. This research continued through his career with the U.S. Air Force. Following his retirement, he became a consultant with the U.S. government, developing further studies of the atmosphere and creating joint programs for missile defense. He currently works as the president of Visidyne, Inc. and is involved with a new sensor called Sun and Aureole Measurements, used for measuring the optical properties of cirrus and their effects on radiation balance of the earth and solar energy.
