W. Barlow Newbolt, Professor of Physics Emeritus, Dies at 83 Newbolt taught at W&L from 1962 to 2000.

By Louise Uffelman
August 28, 2018

W. Barlow Newbolt, professor of physics emeritus, who taught here from 1962 until his retirement in 2000, died Aug. 27, 2018 in Lexington. He was 83.

“I understand that when Barlow joined W&L, he helped move the physics department from its home in Reid Hall to its new headquarters in Parmly Hall,” said President Will Dudley. “He also modernized the laboratory equipment and experiments for the modern nuclear physics courses, which he did with a grant from the Atomic Energy Commission.”

Barlow was born on Sept. 29, 1934, in Berea, Kentucky. He graduated from Berea College in 1956 with a B.A. in physics. He earned his M.S. (1960) and Ph.D. (1964) in physics from Vanderbilt University.

He joined the W&L faculty in 1962 as an instructor of physics. His research interests included a broad range of topics in atomic and nuclear physics, and he received fellowships to conduct research at the Marshall Space Flight Center for NASA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Arnold Air Development Center for the Air Force Office of Special Research. In 1968, with a grant from the Sloan Foundation, Barlow spent a year at the Nobel Institute for Physics in Stockholm, Sweden.

While at W&L, Barlow served a five-year term as department chair. He belonged to Phi Kappa Pi and Sigma Xi, an honor society for scientists and engineers. 

The university extends deepest condolences to his wife, Enna Mae; children Bill and Elizabeth; and grandchildren, Taylor, Zoe, Andrew and Hannah.

There will be no funeral or memorial service.