Arthur Hughes Muir Jr. passed away at age 85 in his home in Thousand Oaks, California, on 12 April 2017, as the result of complications from a fall.
Born on 26 August 1931 in San Antonio, Texas, Art attended the Texas Military Institute, Williams College (BA in 1953), and the California Institute of Technology, where he received a MS in 1955 and a PhD in nuclear physics in 1960. After completing his graduate work, Art joined Atomics International, which was a division of North American Aviation (NAA) Corp. When the NAA Science Center was formed in 1962, Art became a charter member of the technical staff. In 1964 the NAA Science Center moved to a permanent location in Thousand Oaks, California. Over the years NAA Corp. became North American Rockwell Corp. and finally Rockwell International Corp. Art remained with the evolving corporation for his entire professional career and retired in the early 1990s after more than 30 years of service. During this time Art published many scientific contributions on both nuclear and solid state physics subjects. Those contributions included the original Mossbauer Effect Data Index and the study of many moon rock samples, including some obtained by the first lunar landing mission.
After retiring, Art’s interest in Egyptology greatly expanded. He volunteered for several digs in Egypt and spent a month in Egypt each year for 15 years. He also participated as a member and officer of the Egypt Exploration Organization of Southern California and assisted with Egyptology research at UCLA. He was very involved in his community and civic organizations, and his presence will be deeply missed.
Arthur is survived by two children, Victoria Clare and Arthur Hughes III, and three grandchildren, Nils Patrick, Molly Patrick, and Quinlan Patrick.
