Dean C. Palmer ’71 ScM, ’75 PhD

Dean C. Palmer ’71 ScM, ’75 PhD, of Excelsior, Minn.; Mar. 8, from primary progressive aphasia. After earning his undergraduate degree from Oberlin College and his PhD in physics from Brown, he began his career as a nuclear physicist. He had postdoctoral positions at the University of Liverpool, England, and the University of Minnesota. He was an expert in the field of magnetic recording, developing the technology used to store data on computer hard drives, first working at IBM in Rochester, Minn., for 20 years and later at Seagate in the Twin Cities. In retirement he enjoyed volunteering and working to make the world a better place for future generations through the Sierra Club and led a landscape renewal project for his community. He is survived by his wife, Helen; two daughters; a stepdaughter; two grandchildren; and four siblings.