James Andrew 'Jim' Roberts, 87, of Sanger, who taught physics at UNT for more than 50 years, died on Nov. 7.
As a professor of physics, he was still serving on the faculty at UNT and said he continued to teach into his 80s because he enjoyed working with students. He was an advocate for helping public school teachers receive the training and tools they needed to better teach science and mathematics, and he founded and served for more than 30 years as project director for UNT’s Collaborative Group for the Texas Regional Collaboratives for Excellence in Science Teaching.
His research specialties included the interaction of microwaves with matter, molecular and atomic spectroscopy, plasma physics, and astronomy, and his research funding included grants from the Robert A. Welch Foundation. He published more than 125 papers, collaborated with researchers in several other countries, received many teaching honors and mentored many students over the years.
He also served as an elder for the Sanger Church of Christ for more than 30 years.
Prior to joining North Texas in 1967, he served in the Air Force for four years, then earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Louisiana Tech University and a doctorate in engineering physics from the University of Oklahoma.
