Published: Monday, 9/22/2014

BY JIM SIELICKI BLADE STAFF WRITER

BOWLING GREEN Retired Bowling Green State University physics professor Roger Ptak, who directed the university's astronomy department and was sought after for his insights on celestial events, died Friday in Corning, N.Y., in an accident.

Mr. Ptak, 76, was struck by a vehicle outside a restaurant where he had stopped while returning home to Northport, Maine, from a visit in Ohio, his wife, Donna said.

He joined BGSU in 1968 after teaching two years as an assistant professor at Depauw University in Greencastle, Ind. He taught and conducted research into quasars and related galaxies at BGSU for nearly 30 years.

In retirement, he continued to write a monthly astronomy column, Stardust, for newspapers in Bryan and Bowling Green and in Maine, said his wife.

His last column touched on the October skies and the upcoming lunar eclipse.

His true passion was the celestial sky and communicating his love of the stars to the public in his monthly column, his daughter Marcianna Ptak Delaney wrote in a tribute to her father.

After moving to Northport, Maine, in 1998, he kept two telescopes at the house: one for nighttime viewing and a second to examine the sun, his wife said.

He liked to travel and he loved to read and listen to music of all kinds, Donna Ptak said.

Originally posted here:

Roger Ptak: 1938-2014: Physics professor at BGSU led astronomy department