Edward F. Zganjar, PhD, retired Alumni Professor and Professor of Physics

Emeritus at Louisiana State University, and an eminent researcher in experimental

nuclear physics, died February 8, 2024. He was 85 years old.

Zganjar was born July 31, 1938, and grew up in Gilbert, Minn., on northern

Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range. He was an avid trapper and boy scout as a youth,

and he worked at the Skelly Service Station owned by his father, servicing and

cleaning cars. Zganjar graduated from Gilbert High School in 1956 with a passion

for science and math that was inspired by a favorite teacher, and the desire to

learn never left him.

He earned bachelor’s degrees in physics and mathematics, Cum Laude, in 1960

from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn., the same year he married

Josephine Charmoli of Mt. Iron, Minn., his wife of 63 years. Zganjar earned

master’s and doctoral degrees in nuclear physics from Vanderbilt University in

Nashville, Tenn., in 1963 and 1966, respectively.

Zganjar joined the faculty at LSU in Baton Rouge in 1966 as assistant professor in

the Department of Physics and Astronomy. He loved teaching undergraduate and

graduate physics students. He was promoted to associate professor in 1970 and

to full professor in 1975. He chaired the department from 1982 to 1985 and was

LSU’s Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development from

1991 to 1994.

Zganjar’s major research interest was nuclear astrophysics, and he was awarded

continuous grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy from 1970 to 2017.

He designed and constructed highly specialized spectrometers and spectroscopic

equipment to conduct his research and to facilitate the research of his colleagues,

and his research helped provide an understanding of the astrophysical processes

that shaped our early universe. He received the Francis G. Slack Award from the

Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society and was inducted into the

LSU College of Science Hall of Distinction in 2015.

Zganjar, his wife, and their four children traveled often together as family as his

work took him to research centers in the United States, Canada, and Germany.

The family spent a year living in Germany when he was a visiting scientist at a

research center near Darmstadt and they traveled extensively throughout Europe.

There were also annual Labor Day trips to the beach with the family, and later

with his beloved grandchildren.

Zganjar was a skilled woodworker, crafting furniture and other heirloom pieces –

cradles for his newborn grandchildren, a dining room table where his large family

could gather around for holiday and celebratory meals, and a pool table for family

tournaments. He was an avid photographer, documenting the lives and

milestones of his children and grandchildren. He was often a guest speaker at his

grandchildren’s science classes, providing talks and conducting experiments.

He and his wife were longtime members of the Karpaty Folk Dance Ensemble in

Baton Rouge and traveled with the group to perform in festivals in the

Southeastern United States and in Europe. They were active congregants at Christ

the King Parish and Student Center and later attended St. Jude the Apostle

Catholic Church.

In addition to his wife, Josephine, Zganjar is survived by their four children and

nine grandchildren: Cheryl Zganjar and her children Marianne Turner and Austin

Smith; Leslie Zganjar McKnight (Douglas) and their children Caitlin McKnight and

Sanders McKnight; Brian Zganjar (Wendie) and their children Shelby Zganjar,

Joshua Zganjar, and Madison Deane; and Christopher Zganjar (Amy) and their

children Mia Zganjar and Owen Zganjar. Zganjar was preceded in death by his

parents, Frank and Sophie Zganjar, and a sister, Mary Ann Zganjar.

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