Dr. Joseph T. Pollock | Obits

He was born Dec. 16, 1950, in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and grew up in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Astronomy from Pennsylvania State University and his Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Florida. His travels took him to the stars and beyond by way of telescopes.

He was a retired professor of astronomy in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Appalachian State University, where he taught for more than 35 years after joining the faculty in 1981.

Joe’s intelligence, wit, humility, enthusiasm and patience made him a master teacher who loved, and was loved by, his students. He was generous with his time and resources, and App State honored him with the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award in the College of Arts and Sciences for 2014-15 and the Harvey R. Durham Outstanding Freshman Advocate Award in 2006.

He also was a dedicated researcher. Joe made extensive telescopic observations of the radiation emitted by quasars. His measurements of the light reflected by asteroids allowed many properties of these orbiting objects to be determined. Research in collaboration with international astronomers led to numerous publications in prestigious journals. Particularly noteworthy were his contributions to studying binary asteroids and to the discovery of the first asteroid circled by rings. He was twice published in Nature, one of the top-tier journals in the world. A minor planet was named “Joepollock” in recognition of his contributions to the study of the properties of asteroids.

Joe was the first director of the Department of Physics and Astronomy’s graduate program. He played an important role in recruiting students and persuading university administrators to maintain support for the program. The Master of Science in Engineering Physics program has grown to become one of the largest M.S. programs in a physics department in the United States.

Joe also was the driving force in the development of the GoTo Astronomy Observational Facility in Rankin Science Building — which features 15 telescopes, a retractable roof and adjacent lab. Used for university classes and public and K-12 educational tours, it is recognized as one of the top of its kind in the country.

As a young man, he played on his high school baseball and tennis teams. In later years, he was an avid golfer and played recreational basketball with colleagues at App State. He also was an avid baseball fan, especially of the Atlanta Braves and Hickory Crawdads, and a fan of Star Trek, able to quote numerous classic lines from the series.

Joe was a passionate collector of daguerreotypes — the first publicly available photographic process made popular as portraiture in the mid-1800’s. He loved to introduce people to daguerreotypes and other collectibles, as he saw value in collecting as a practice for relaxation and good mental health.

In the 1990s, he developed a technique to clean and restore daguerreotypes, revealing the faces of people long obscured by the plates’ deterioration. He was a member of The Daguerreian Society, where he spoke at events.

Joe also loved antiquing. He held a deep appreciation for the human spirit to innovate, to create, and to resourcefully design items.

Joe is remembered as kind, congenial, intuitive, generous, sensitive, thoughtful, quick witted, playful and a loyal friend. He had a remarkable sense of humor, with a pun for every occasion.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Cecelia Pollock. Survivors include two brothers, Robert Pollock and wife Jean of Roseburg, Oregon, and James Pollock and wife Nina of Portland, Oregon; nephew, Michael Pollock and wife Adrienne of Puyallup, Washington; and grandnephew, Ashton Pollock and grandniece, Natalie Pollock.

In coordination with the Department of Physics and Astronomy, family and friends are planning a Zoom gathering at a later date to share special memories.

Memorial contributions may be made to Western Youth Network, 155 WYN Way, Boone, NC 28607.