Robert Wayne Rice

RICE, Robert Wayne, 63, of Marietta, died Wednesday, February 1, 2012. Born on June 17, 1948, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Dr. Rice was the only child of Walter Wilburn Rice of Harrogate, Tennessee, and the former Sara Frances Beaird of Gadsden, Alabama. Dr. Rice was one of the first babies born in the Atomic City after the end of World War II. A Memorial Service will be held 2:00 p.m. Saturday, February 11th, at Mayes Ward-Dobbins Funeral Home and Crematory in Marietta. There will be a private family burial before the service. Dr. Rice, known as Bob by all of his friends and colleagues, obtained his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where he met his future wife, the former Beverly Viola Stout of Oak Ridge. Their only child, son Dylan Edward, is now 24 and living in Marietta, where he is working on his B.S. degree in Information Technology. Bob is survived by both Beverly and Dylan. Bob was a member of Central Baptist Church in Oak Ridge, where his family were founding members, until he joined Piedmont Baptist Church in Marietta. Except for one summer of work at Texas Instruments in Austin, Texas, and one year at Lockheed in Marietta, Bob was employed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) in Atlanta since he completed his studies. Bob has been a researcher in the Signature Technology Laboratory of the Georgia Tech Research Institute for the past 24 years. During this time, Bob was known in the U.S. defense community as a national resource for evaluating communication and radio frequency sensing technologies. He spent his career testing state-of-the-art equipment and advising the Air Force and the Intelligence Community on how these technologies can be leveraged. A born skeptic, the government used a “thumbs-up” by Bob as the gold acceptance standard for adapting novel technologies. Bob was also a key developer of technical staff at GTRI, as he was the mentor of many a young researcher. His work style was a living demonstration that research is a skill that can be taught (as he did for many) and perfected. One of Bob’s lifelong hobbies was amateur radio, for which he got his first ham license at the age of twelve. He also participated in astronomy and in model railroading with his family. Bob was fortunate to be able to pursue another interest, foreign travel, as part of his work in the last couple of years as he journeyed with colleagues to arrange conferences in France, Italy, the Netherlands, and, most recently, in Australia last December. Contributions may be made to Dr. Rice's favorite charity, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 3525 Piedmont Road, Bldg.6, Suite 300, Atlanta, GA 30305. www.mayeswarddobbins.com

Robert Wayne Rice

June 17, 1948 - February 1, 2012