Richard Sill papers on Great Basin National Park

Richard Clements Sill, a specialist in astronomy and environmental matters, joined the University of Nevada-Reno faculty in 1959 and became a full professor of physics in 1973. He grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, and received his MS and Ph.D degrees in physics and mathematics from the University of Nebraska. Prior to coming to Reno he had taught at the University of Nebraska and the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology; and worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Lick Observatory in California, and the Stanford Research Institute. His interests in the outdoors and environmental conservation began early, and were shared by his wife, Marjorie Sill, who was also a lifelong environmental activist. They both joined the Sierra Club after college. Richard Sill served on the national board of directors for the Sierra Club from 1967-1971, was on the executive committee of Sierra Club for two terms, and was an early member of the Toiyabe Chapter of Sierra Club (Nevada). His service in the Club at a national level coincided with a period of significant turmoil and factionalism within Club leadership - turmoil in which he was directly involved. Sill was active in the effort to create a national park in the Snake Range of eastern Nevada and served as chair of the UNR Environmental Studies Board and the Pyramid Lake Task Force for the Sierra Club. Richard C. Sill died at age 58 in March 1981 when the small airplane he owned and piloted crashed near the airport in Stead, Nevada.