From Ken Sembach, Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute:

Dear Colleagues,

It is with sadness that I inform you that our colleague and emeritus astronomer Ron Allen passed away Saturday morning. Ron joined the Institute in 1989 and had recently retired. During his tenure at STScI, he held many positions, served on numerous external committees, collaborated with many of us, and loved to work with students. He taught courses on Fourier optics and interferometry at Johns Hopkins University and published more than 120 peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals. His good nature and humor were hallmarks of his interactions with others. 

At present, we don’t have details from Ron’s family about a service or memorial. At some point, we will have an opportunity for STScI and JHU to gather at STScI to share thoughts and remember our colleague. I will pass along any information as it becomes available.

Please keep Ron’s wife Jan, and his family and friends in your thoughts.   

Sincerely,

Ken