The University Record, January 25, 1999
Obituary
Edward A. Boettner, professor emeritus of industrial health, died Dec. 5, 1998, at age 83 in Mesa, Ariz. He was named an emeritus professor upon his retirement in 1983 for having completed a long and distinguished professional career in the fields of applied spectroscopy and environmental health.
Boettner attended Lawrence Institute of Technology and the U-M. He worked in research in physics and engineering until April 1959, when he joined the Department of Industrial Health as an assistant professor. He was promoted to professor in 1969.
Boettner established and directed the Physics Instrumentation Laboratory in the School of Public Health. Apart from its research function, the laboratory provided the foundation for the development of a program to teach the application of instrumental techniques in the fields of public health and medicine. In 1973, he established the Mass Spectrometer Service Unit in the School of Public Health.
He had a keen interest in education and provided exceptional guidance to students in the development and conduct of their research. He was regarded as a thorough scientific investigator who made a major contribution to applied spectroscopy. As one of the founding members of the Electron Microscopy Society of America, he was honored during the 50th anniversary of the organization’s founding.
Following retirement, Boettner moved to Arizona to continue his lifelong hobby of flying, this time with gliders at the Estrella sailport.
Boettner was preceded in death by his first wife, Irene. Surviving are his second wife, Melva; a brother, Russell, of Huntsville, Texas; two sons, Donald of Ann Arbor and Thomas of Cheyenne, Wyo.; and two grandchildren, Bryan and Erin, of Cheyenne.
Submitted by the family
