Dr. Isaac Isaac was the Department of Physics undergraduate program advisor and academic director for undergraduate labs and past president of the Faculty Club.
Longtime physics educator Dr. Isaac Isaac passed away on August 9, 2019, after a long battle with cancer. Isaac was the Department of Physics undergraduate program advisor and academic director for undergraduate labs until he took medical leave in 2018.
Isaac grew up in Egypt, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master's degree in Engineering Physics at Cairo University. He came to the University of Alberta in 1990 for his PhD in Condensed Matter Physics under the supervision of Professor Jan Jung.
In 2000, Isaac was appointed as Faculty Lecturer. He received the Faculty of Science Innovation in Teaching Award in 2004. The following year, he was appointed as Faculty Service Officer, with responsibilities for overseeing undergraduate labs. Undergraduate program advising was added to his portfolio in 2015.
Isaac was a familiar face to future students and their teachers. He coordinated programs that sent professors out to speak with high school students, and that brought high school physics students to the University of Alberta to conduct physics experiments.
He was also involved in the Faculty Club, where he served as a board member from 2010 to 2015, when he served a year as president. Isaac combined his love of golf and service by volunteering as chair of the Faculty Club's annual golf tournament.
On Friday, August 16, 2019, the University of Alberta banners will be lowered in recognition of Isaac. During his 15-plus years of service, Isaac's contributions as an educator, as well as his kindness and compassion, touched the lives of thousands of students. He will be missed.
Also on Friday, August 16, a Celebration of Life will be held at 1:30pm in his memory. The service will be at Beulah Alliance Church (17504 98a Avenue NW). Everyone is welcome to attend. For more details about the service and donations in lieu of flowers, see the family's obituary of Isaac.