Carl Baxter Collins, age 79, was born to parents Carl Baxter Collins, Sr. and Lela Golden McCoy in San Antonio, Texas on March 4, 1940.  He passed away in the early morning hours of Thursday, August 15, 2019 in Dallas, Texas.

Education

Carl graduated with honors from Breckinridge High School in San Antonio, Texas in 1957. He was involved with many extra-curricular activities, especially related to the sciences. He then enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin. He graduated from the University of Texas, magna cum laude, with a BS in physics. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Siga Pi Sigma, the physics honorary society. He was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and a National Science Foundation Fellowship. Following graduation in 1960, Carl married Annabelle Lane, a UT student from Dallas, Texas. They were divorced in 1973. He entered the graduate physics program at University of Texas and earned an MA in 1961. His thesis was entitled, "A study of helium metastable interactions with nitrogen and their application in the detection of 2³s helium atoms". His PhD dissertation, "Selective excitation of spectra in a flowing helium afterglow", was completed in 1963. Both degrees were under the supervision of Professor W. W. Robertson. Collins was a UT Austin physics faculty Instructor in 1964. In 1964, he joined the Southwest Center for Advance Studies, which was incorporated into the University of Texas at Dallas in 1969. He served as head of the graduate program in physics from 1972 to 1975.

Carl B. Collins was the director of the Center for Quantum Electronics at UTD. In 1975, Collins founded the center, which in three years developed two new laser devices. He was a joint-principal investigator with Ioan-Iovitz Popescu of Bucharest University of the U.S.-Romanian Project in Atomic and Plasma Physics from 1971-1981. This project was supported by the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Collins' research involves various aspects of quantum electronics, in particular, high-power laser development, laser spectroscopy, and ultrashort-wavelength lasers. He is a co-discoverer of two U.S. patents on pulsed-power-related technologies and four patents on thin-film diamond produced by the laser ablation source. Dr. Collins was named the 1989 Distinguished Texas Scientist by the Texas Academy of Sciences, and in 1992, he was awarded the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Orleans in France. In 1993, he was elected as Honorary Member of the Romanian (National) Academy.

Family

Carl married Doina Borovina on February 1, 1974 in Bucharest, Romania. He was a professor at UT Dallas for more than 40 years. Carl was preceded in death by his daughter, Ann, one month old; sons, Carl Baxter Collins III, 21, and Jeffrey Thomas Collins, 42. He is survived by his wife, Doina Collins; daughter, Jean Scott; and sons, Carl Lane Collins and Jack Scott Collins.Visitation will be on Tuesday, August 20, 2019 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Restland Funeral Home.  Funeral service will take place on Wednesday, August 21, 2019 at 3:00 PM in the Abbey Chapel at Restland Memorial Park. Funeral arrangements for Carl Collins have been faithfully entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Cemetery, which is located at 13005 Greenville Avenue, at the intersection of Restland Road, Dallas, Texas 75243.

Research

Carl had a very impressive research career. His research involved various aspects of quantum electronics, in particular, high-power laser development, laser spectroscopy, and ultrashort-wavelength lasers. He is a co-discoverer of two U.S. patents on pulsed-power-related technologies and four patents on thin-film diamond produced by the laser ablation source. Dr. Collins was named the 1989 Distinguished Texas Scientist by the Texas Academy of Sciences, and in 1992, he was awarded the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Orleans in France. In 1993, he was elected as Honorary Member of the Romanian (National) Academy.

One of his principal collaborators was Professor Ioan-Iovitz Popescu Of Romania University. A list of their shared papers is shown below. It was taken from Professor Popescu's webpage.

Here is a list of their principal accomplishments as listed by Professor Popescu.

(1) Introduction of the optogalvanic effect as a new principle for laser spectroscopy by thermionic detection (1964), radio-frequency detection (1980) and detection of laser-induced frequency shift of self-excited ion plasma oscillations (1990), with Acad. Prof. Eugen Badareu, Dr. Denisa Popescu, Prof. Dr. Johannes Richter, Prof. Dr. Carl B. Collins, Prof. Dr. C. Stanciulescu e.t al.

(2) First experimental evidence of multiphoton spectra of free atoms and molecules with tunable lasers (with Dr. Denisa Popescu and Prof. Dr. C.B. Collins, 1973-74)

(3) Discovery of hybrid resonances and state-selective laser photolysis of molecules (with Dr. Denisa Popescu and Prof. Dr. Carl B. Collins, 1974). This two-photon process involving hybrid molecular-atomic resonances appears to be the most efficient for the production of highly excited Rydberg atoms

(4) Introduction of photolytic spectroscopy (with Dr. Denisa Popescu and Prof. Dr. Carl B. Collins, 1980) capable to investigate in detail the predissociation of neutral molecules, the form of the repulsive potential curves and the atomic dissociation states.

(5) First demonstrations of the real possibilities of multiphoton spectroscopy (with Dr. Denisa Popescu and Prof. Dr Carl B. Collins, 1973-1981) which initiated the growth of the field of laser spectroscopy by Excited-State Spectroscopy, Rydberg Spectroscopy, Two-Photon Doppler-Free Spectroscopy, Multiphoton Ionization Spectroscopy and Photolytic Spectroscopy

(6) Pioneering project of optical pumping of gamma-ray lasers which ultimately launched the renaissance of the field (with Prof. Dr. C. B. Collins Dr. S. Olariu, and Prof. Dr. M. Petrascu, 1979-1982)

(7) First experimental evidence of induced gamma emission of a longlived Hafnium-178 isomer showing a highly efficient X-rays to gamma-rays conversion (with Carl B. Collins et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 82, 695 (1999); 84, 2544 (2000); Phys. Rev. C, 61, 054305(7) (18 April 2000); Phys. Atom. Nucl. (Yad. Fiz.), 63, 2067 (2000); Laser Phys., 11, 1-5 (2001); Hyper. Inter., volume in honor of Romain Coussement, accepted for publication (2001)

Here is a list of their research papers.

NOTE: In the same year (1974) we presented a joint report [12P]: "Fine and hyperfine structure measurements of two photon transitions in atomic cesium with a tunable dye laser", S. M. Curry, C. B. Collins T. W. Hänsch, S. A. Lee, Denisa Popescu, I.-I. Popescu and A. L. Schawlow (1981 Nobel Prize in Physics for laser spectroscopy) , Sixth Annual Meeting of the Division of Electron and Atomic Physics, Chicago, Illinois, 1974, Bull. Am. Phys. Soc., vol. 19, 1198 (1974), having the following abstract: "Observations have been made of the fine and hyperfine structure of two photon transitions in atomic cesium excited by a nitrogen laser pumped narrow-band dye laser [cit. T. W. Hänsch, Appl.Optics, vol.11, 895 (1972)] and detected by a space charge limited cesium vapor photodiode [cit. our paper [19], Popescu et al., Phys.Rev. A, vol.8, 1666 (1973) ]. Transitions have been observed from the 6S ground state to selected higher lying nS Rydberg levels up to n=14 and nD levels to n=19. Line strength ratios of the fine and hyperfine structure components have been measured and compared with theoretical predictions."
 

5. S. M. Curry, C. B. Collins T. W. Hänsch, S. A. Lee, Denisa Popescu, Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, and A. L. Schawlow (1981 Nobel Laureate for laser spectroscopy), FINE AND HYPERFINE STRUCTURE MEASUREMENTS OF TWO PHOTON TRANSITIONS IN ATOMIC CESIUM WITH A TUNABLE DYE LASER, Sixth Annual Meeting of the Division of Electron and Atomic Physics, Chicago, Illinois, 1974, Bull. Am. Phys. Soc., vol. 19, 1198 (1974).

6. C. B. Collins B. W. Johnson, M. Y. Mirza, Denisa Popescu, and Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, MULTIPHOTON IONIZATION OF CESIUM THROUGH RESONANT DISSOCIATIVE MOLECULAR STATES OFCs ₂ , Phys. Rev. A , vol. 10, 813-821 (received 10 December 1973, published September 1974)

7. Denisa Popescu, Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, J. Maurer, C. B. Collins and B. W. Johnson, DOUBLET LINE-STRENGTH RATIOS FOR THE PRINCIPAL SERIES OF CESIUM , Phys. Rev. A , vol. 12, 1425-1431 (1975)

8. S. M. Curry, C. B. Collins M. Y. Mirza, Denisa Popescu, and Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, FINE-STRUCTURE MEASUREMENTS OF TWO-PHOTON TRANSITIONS IN ATOMIC CESIUM WITH A TUNABLE DYE LASER , Opt. Commun ., vol. 16, 251-255 (1976)

9. C. B. Collins S. M. Curry, B. W. Johnson, M. Y. Mirza, M. A. Chellehmalzadeh, J. A. Anderson, Denisa Popescu, and Ioan-Iovitz Popescu , MULTIPHOTON IONIZATION OF RUBIDIUM, Phys. Rev. A, vol. 14, 1662-1671 (1976)

10. S. Olariu, Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, and C. B. Collins QUESTIONS OF GAUGE AND BASIS SETS FOR THE REPRESENTATION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERACTIONS IN QUANTUM MECHANICS , Phys. Rev. D , 20, 3095-3107 (1979)

11. C. Stanciulescu, R. Bobulescu, Ani Surmeian, Denisa Popescu, Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, and C. B. Collins OPTICAL IMPEDANCE SPECTROSCOPY , Appl. Phys. Lett. , vol. 37, 888-890 (1980)

12. C. B. Collins J. A. Anderson, F. W. Lee, P. A. Vicharelli, Denisa Popescu, and Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, TWO PHOTON TECHNIQUE FOR THE DISSOCIATIVE SPECTROSCOPY OF SIMPLE MOLECULES , Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 44, 139-142 (1980)

13. C. B. Collins J. A. Anderson, Denisa Popescu, and Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, PHOTOLYTIC SPECTROSCOPY OF SIMPLE MOLECULES, PART I, THE PRODUCTION OF 5 ² D ATOMS FROM Cs ₂ , J. Chem. Phys. , vol. 74, 1053-1066 (1981)

14. C. B. Collins F. W. Lee, J. A. Anderson, P. A. Vicharelli, Denisa Popescu, and Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, PHOTOLYTIC SPECTROSCOPY OF SIMPLE MOLECULES, PART II, THE PRODUCTION OF 6P ATOMS FROM THE X ¹ S _g STATE OF Cs ₂ , J. Chem. Phys. , vol. 74, 1067-1073 (1981)

15. C. B. Collins F. W. Lee, H. Golnabi, F. Davanloo, P. A. Vicharelli, Denisa Popescu, and Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, P HOTOLYTIC SPECTROSCOPY OF SIMPLE MOLECULES, PART III: THE SELECTIVE PHOTOLYSIS OF CsKr AND Cs ₂ Kr AT VISIBLE WAVELENGTHS , J. Chem. Phys. , vol. 75, 4852-4862 (1981)

16. C.B. Collins, F.W. Lee, P.A. Vicharelli, Denisa Popescu, and Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, SELECTIVE PHOTOLYSIS AND PHOTOIONIZATION OF ALKALI METAL DIMERS, American Chemical Society Symposium Series on "Metal Bonding and Interactions in High Temperature Systems with Emphasis on Alkali Metals" , 179 , 19 (1982)

1. C. B. Collins S. Olariu, M. Petrascu, and Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, ENHANCEMENT OF GAMMA-RAY ABSORPTION IN THE RADIATION FIELD OF A HIGH POWER LASER, Phys. Rev. Lett. , vol. 42, 1397-1400 (1979)
 

2. C. B. Collins S. Olariu, M. Petrascu, and Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, THE LASER-INDUCED RESONANT ABSORPTION OF GAMMA-RADIATION , Phys. Rev. C , vol. 20, 1942-1945 (1979)
 

3. S. Olariu, Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, and C.B. Collins, THE TUNING OF THE GAMMA-RAY PROCESS WITH HIGH POWER OPTICAL RADIATION , Phys. Rev. C , vol. 23, 50-63 (1981)
 

4. S. Olariu, Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, and C.B. Collins, MULTIPHOTON GENERATION OF OPTICAL SIDEBANDS TO NUCLEAR TRANSITIONS , Phys. Rev. C , vol. 23, 1007-1014 (1981)
 

5. C. B. Collins F. W. Lee, D. M. Shemwell, B. D. DePaola, S. Olariu, and Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, THE COHERENT AND INCOHERENT PUMPING OF A GAMMA-RAY LASER WITH INTENSE OPTICAL RADIATION , J. Appl. Phys. , vol. 53, 4645-4651 (1982)
 

6. S. Olariu, Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, and C. B. Collins AMPLIFICATION OF GAMMA RADIATION FROM X-RAY EXCITED NUCLEAR STATES , Rev. Roum. Phys ., vol. 27, 559-565 (1982); also available from Los Alamos E-Print Archive, paper 9907010 at the entry: http://arXiv.org/abs/nucl-ex/9907010
 

7. S. Olariu, M. Sorescu, Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, and C. B. Collins NUCLEAR MULTIPHOTON TRANSITIONS INDUCED BY MODULATED HYPERFINE ELECTRIC FIELD GRADIENTS , Europhys. Lett. , vol. 2, 725-732 (1986) [In August 2004 not yet available online]
 

8. C. B. Collins and L. A. Rivlin (Editors), Proceedings of the 1st International Gamma-Ray Laser Workshop (GARALAS’95), Predeal, Romania, 19-23 August 1995, a NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW); published in Hyper. Inter., vol. 107 (1997) . This volume presents a thorough review paper by C. B. Collins and J. J. Carroll, "Progress in the Pumping of a Gamma-Ray Laser" (pp. 3-42, including 78 references)
 

9. S. Olariu, Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, J. J. Carroll, and C. B. Collins EMISSION OF GAMMA RAYS BY ELECTRON-NUCLEAR DOUBLE TRANSITION , Proc. 1st Int. Gamma-Ray Laser Workshop, GARALAS'95 , Predeal, Romania, Hyper. Inter. , vol. 107, 197-203 (1997)
 

10. V. Zoran, M. Ganciu, Anne-Marie Pointu, C. B. Collins and Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, X-RAY GENERATION IN INVERSE CAPILLARY DISCHARGES FOR PUMPING, Proc. 1st Int. Gamma-Ray Laser Workshop, GARALAS'95 , Predeal, Romania, Hyper. Inter. , vol. 107, 415-430 (1997)
 

11. Ioan-Iovitz Popescu and C. A. Ur (Editors), Proceedings of the First International Induced Gamma Emission Workshop (IGE’97) , Predeal, Romania, 16-20 August 1997, sponsored by Sandia National Laboratories and USAF European Office for Aerospace Research and Development (EOARD); published by Editura Metropol, Bucharest, ISBN 973-562-093-6 (1999). This volume presents an overview by C. B. Collins "Essential Fundamentals of Quantum Nucleonics" (pp. 1-17)
 

12. M. Ganciu, C. B. Collins M. C. Penache, D. Penache, V. Zoran, and Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, FILAMENTARY X-RAY SOURCE BY "CRUISE EFFECT" , Proc. 1st Int. Induced Gamma Emission Workshop, IGE’97 , Predeal, Romania, Editura Metropol, Bucharest, 198-202 (1999)
 

19. C. B. Collins F. Davanloo, M. C. Iosif, R. Dussart, J. M. Hicks, S. A. Karamian, C. A. Ur, Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, V. I. Kirischuk, J. J. Carroll, H. E. Roberts, P. McDaniel, and C. E. Crist, ACCELERATED EMISSION OF GAMMA RAYS FROM THE 31-YR ISOMER OF ¹⁷⁸ Hf INDUCED BY X-RAY IRRADIATION , Phys. Rev. Lett. , vol. 82, 695-698 (1999)
 

20 C. B. Collins F. Davanloo, A. C. Rusu, M. C. Iosif, N. C. Zoita, D. T. Camase, J. M. Hicks, S. A. Karamian, C. A. Ur, Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, R. Dussart, J. M. Pouvesle, V. I. Kirischuk, N. V. Strilchuk, P. McDaniel, and C. E. Crist, STUDY OF THE GAMMA EMISSION FROM THE 31-YR ISOMER OF ¹⁷⁸ Hf INDUCED BY X-RAY IRRADIATION , Phys. Rev. C , vol. 61 , 054305(7) (18 April 2000)
 

21. C. B. Collins F. Davanloo, M. C. Iosif, R. Dussart, J. M. Hicks, S. A. Karamian, C. A. Ur, Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, V. I. Kirischuk, J. M. Pouvesle, P. McDaniel, and C. E. Crist, STUDY OF GAMMA EMISSION FROM THE 31-YR ISOMER OF ¹⁷⁸ Hf INDUCED BY X-RAY IRRADIATION , Phys. Atom. Nucl. (Yadernaya Fizika), vol. 63, 2067-2072 (2000)
 

23. C. B. Collins N. C. Zoita, A. C. Rusu, M. C. Iosif, D. T. Camase, F. Davanloo, J. M. Pouvesle, R. Dussart, V. I. Kirischuk, N. V. Strilchuk, C. A. Ur, Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, F. J. Agee, SCALING OF GAMMA-RAY TRANSITIONS INDUCED IN NUCLEAR SPIN ISOMERS BY X-RAYS , Laser Phys. , vol. 11, 1-5 (2001)
 

24. C. B. Collins A. C. Rusu, N. C. Zoita, M. C.Iosif, D. T. Camase, F. Davanloo, C. A. Ur, Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, J. M. Pouvesle, R. Dussart, V. I. Kirischuk, N. V. Strilchuk, F. J. Agee, GAMMA-RAY TRANSITIONS INDUCED IN NUCLEAR SPIN ISOMERS BY X-RAYS , Hyper. Inter ., vol. 135, 51-70 (2001)
 

25. C. B. Collins N. C. Zoita, A. C. Rusu, M. C. Iosif, D. T. Camase, F. Davanloo, S. Emura, T. Uruga, R. Dussart, J. M. Pouvesle, C. A. Ur, Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, V. I. Kirischuk, N. V. Strilchuk, and F. J. Agee, TUNABLE SYNCHROTRON RADIATION USED TO INDUCE GAMMA-EMISSION FROM THE 31 YEAR ISOMER OF 178Hf , Europhys. Lett. , vol. 57 (5), 677-682 (2002)
 

26. S. A. Karamian, J. Adam, D. V. Filossofov, D. Henzlova, V. Henzl, V. G.  Kalinnikov,  N. A. Lebedev, A. F. Novgorodov, C. B. Collins Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, and C. A. Ur, ACCUMULATION OF THE 178m2Hf ISOMERIC NUCLEI THROUGH SPALLATION WITH INTERMEDIATE-ENERGY PROTONS OF TANTALUM AND RHENIUM TARGETS , PREPRINT E6-2001-249 of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russia, 26 pages (2001), Nuclear Instruments and Methods A, vol. 489, 448-468 (2002)
 

27. C. B. Collins N. C. Zoita, F. Davanloo, S. Emura, Y. Yoda, T. Uruga, B. Patterson, B. Schmitt, J. M. Pouvesle, Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, V. I. Kirischuk, and N. V. Strilchuk, ACCELERATED DECAY OF THE 31-YR ISOMER OF HF-178 INDUCED BY LOW-ENERGY PHOTONS AND ELECTRONS, Laser Physics , 14 (2) , 154-165 (2004)

28. S. A. Karamian, J. Adam, P. Chaloun, D. V. Filossofov, V. Henzl, D. Henzlova, V. G. Kalinnikov, N. A. Korolev, N. A. Lebedev, A. F. Novgorodov, C. B. Collins Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, and C. A. Ur , YIELD OF RADIONUCLIDES AND ISOMERS PRODUCED IN THE FRAGMENTATION OF natW AND 186W (97%) TARGETS WITH PROTONS AT 630, 420 AND 270 MeV, Nuclear Instruments and Methods A, 527, 609-823 (2004) 

29. C. B. Collins N. C. Zoita, F. Davanloo, S. Emura, Y. Yoda, T. Uruga, B. Patterson, B. Schmitt, J. M. Pouvesle, Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, V. I. Kirischuk, and N. V. Strilchuk, ACCELERATED GAMMA-EMISSION FROM ISOMERIC NUCLEI, Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 71, 619-625 (2004)

30. C. B. Collins N. C. Zoita, F. Davanloo, Y. Yoda, T. Uruga, J. M. Pouvesle, and Ioan-Iovitz Popescu, NUCLEAR RESONANCE SPECTROSCOPY OF THE 31-YR ISOMER OF Hf-178,  Laser Physics Letters (Received: 20 October 2004; Accepted: 24 October 2004), Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.1002/lapl.200410154 ( About DOI )

Carl Baxter Collins Jr. Photo and Document Album

 

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