Dear Friends at JILA

On the news of passing of Art Phelps I wish to send JILA my letter as 
his former postdoc and colleague.

Art was one of the leaders and even founders of the modern physics 
of ionized gases and atomic and molecular physics.  His vast knowledge 
and experience was always a major source of ideas and inspiration for 
all of us. Just reading his footnotes is an amazing experience and a 
source of education to his colleagues that is second to none. Art also 
had a principle of performing quantitative tests as a necessary part of 
research and was never satisfied with his tests until all parts of his 
theory were of highest possible quality.

That is why the papers written by him last for many decades and that is 
why the papers (a large number of them) still siting in his files are 
better than most of the papers published nowadays.

Art has affected lives and careers of all the people that had luck to 
have worked with him, he influenced many more and he shaped the whole 
field by his knowledge, ideas and strict adherence to ethical and 
scientific principles.

With his passing, JILA, scientific community and his colleagues have 
lost a lot but with his career we have all gained a 
contribution of a truly great man of science.

With regards

Zoran Lj. Petrovic

Insitute of Physics, University of Belgrade Serbia