Longtime former Abilene Christian University physics professor Dr. Robert Charles Ivey (’65) died July 11, 2026, at age 82.
A private burial service will be held at Elmwood Memorial Park, followed by a public memorial funeral service to be held at Hamil Family Funeral Home Chapel at 1 p.m. on July 23. The service will also be livestreamed at HamilFamilyFuneralHome.com on his obituary page.
Ivey was born Aug. 3, 1943, in Portland, Oregon; and earned a B.S. in chemistry from ACU and in 1969, a Ph.D. in chemical physics from The University of Texas at Austin. He wed Susan Elaine McKnight (’85) on July 11, 1986.
He joined the ACU faculty in 1969 and was founding chair of the Department of Physics, building a program of excellence by hiring distinguished faculty members and pioneering the development of funded research projects involving undergraduates.
In 1980, Ivey entered the business of engineering and science in the energy field, serving in leadership roles in several market-leading companies around the globe. Among them, he was vice president of research and development of GeoNuclear Consultants Inc., vice president and technical director of LaJet Geophysical, president of Russell Petroleum, CEO of Dwight’s EnergyData Inc., and president and co-founder of SoftSearch Inc. He later led the merger of Petroleum Information and Dwight’s EnergyData Inc. to provide the world’s largest energy data and economic evaluation software company in the world.
After arranging a merger with Petro Consultants, he served as CEO of IHS Energy, and led many other international subsidiaries and acquisitions. He also served as CEO of Tobin International, the top energy mapping company and a pioneer in GIS (geographic information systems).
He held memberships in Sigma Pi Sigma, the national physics honor society; the American Association of Physics Teachers; the American Society of Photogrammetry (satellite imaging); and the Philosophical Society of Texas. He was a Fellow of the Texas Academy of Science; a distinguished lecturer of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME and the Society of Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysts; and inventor and co-patent holder of lithology determination via inelastic nuclear well logging.
A professor emeritus of physics, Ivey was a member of the NEXT Lab Advisory Board at ACU and was instrumental in helping scientists at his alma mater start the advanced molten salt research reactor being built for the university. He is recognized as such in the Founders Lobby of the Dillard Science and Engineering Research Center.
The lobby recognizes Ivey along with colleagues David S. Halbert, M.D. (’54), Jack V. McGlothlin (’51), G. Randy Nicholson (’59) and Jim Porter as influential and pioneering entrepreneurs who saw promise in the power of advanced nuclear energy, and whose commitment to innovation and investment in ACU helped establish the university’s premier research project.
Ivey was deeply involved in the sport of windsurfing, serving on the board of the United States Windsurfing Association (USWA), and as head coach of the organization’s national windsurfing team. He was USWA’s master’s champion in 2003.
He also served on the board of the Houston Symphony and on the Board of Visitors for McDonald Observatory.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles Payne Ivey and Jessie Eloise Rushing Ivey; a brother, Richard Ross Ivey; and a stepbrother, Ron Stailey. Among survivors are Susan, his wife of 40 years; daughters Allison Kay Ivey, Cameron Lynn Colyer and Courtney Adelle Trent; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the university’s Physics Department Endowment (ACU Box 29132, Abilene, Texas 79699-9132 or bit.ly/CharlesIvey).
– Ron Hadfield
July 17, 2026