(Died: July 23, 2002)
Mechanical Engineer
Interests: Relativity Age: 78
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Samuel Richard 'Dick' Hazelett received his BA from Oberlin College in 1965 and two MAs from the University of Texas (1969) and Boston University (1973).
"My very good friend Dick Hazelett passed away on 23 July 2002 at his home in Colchester, Vermont. GED Associate Editor Howard Hayden first introduced Dick to me some years back. From then on, I knew Dick as a steady participant in the on-paper activities of Galilean Electrodynamics and the in-person conferences of the Natural Philosophy Alliance. He was what I referred to as ?the Good Reviewer' ? a person who got thoroughly engrossed in whatever I asked him to look at. You will find him having done exactly that, along with his long-time Colorado friend, Dean Turner, in GED vol. 12, no. 2 (2001).
"Now Dick will be very much missed by very many people here, and around the world. Not only was he connected to GED, and to NPA, but also to family, extended family, and friends all over the place. I was notified about the sad loss by Dick's Berkeley CA housemate, Chaplain, and dear friend, Kaaren Ray. She and Dick's Colchester friend Val Kagan had collected many interesting facts about Dick's life, some of which are reproduced below:
"Along with Dean Turner, Dick had co-authored or co-edited many books. One of the books is very well-known to many GED readers: The Einstein Myth and the Ives Papers. Dick was impassioned by studies centering on the many controversial views related to Eintein's relativity theory. The same is true in regard to Darwin's evolution theory, and many issues in ethics and religion. Other books resulting from the Hazelett/Turner collaboration include Benevolent Living, which deals with connections between science and religious philosophy. Dick was the researcher for Turner's books Commitment to Care and Escape from God. Most recently they produced Coherence Theory of Truth. Dick's last book, An Engineer's Path to God, was not completely finished. The titles of some of the Chapters show how broad his interests were: ?Religion for Scientific Skeptics', ?New Help from Astronomy, Biology, Physics', ?Self-Consistency', ?Benevolence', ?Truth and Need', ?Evil versus the Good', ?Religion Clears the Way for Natural Science'.
"Dick was an extraordinarily fast reader. He consumed tens of thousands of books from ancient times to the present day. Theology and Philosophy were his lifelong interests, and he pursued them formally through Master's Degrees in Philosophy at Boston University and the University of Texas in Austin. For the past three years, Dick had made Berkeley CA his second home in order to pursue doctoral-level Theology work in the Graduate Theological Union. He was formally enrolled this past year for graduate-degree work through the Jesuit School of Theology. He was well known and much beloved in the GTU library, bookstore, the refectory, and the Berkeley community at large. He was that amazing older gentleman riding the recumbent bike! Up until his death, he either walked or rode that bike over twenty-five miles a week.
"Dick had worked with his father in the early development of the Hazelett Twin-Belt continuous metal casting machine. He was involved for many years in the mechanical design activities and intellectual property protection of Hazelett Strip-Casting Corporation. He is a named inventor on eleven patents. He also had a big passion for photography, and documented the life of the company through candid photos of its summer picnics and Christmas parties."
Cynthia Whitney - Galilean Electrodynamics
Richard Hazelett of Colchester, Vermont, an engineer and successful businessman in the machining industry, who was co-editor of the self-published book, The Einstein Myth and the Ives Papers: A Counter-Revolution in Physics (1979, ISBN-0-8159-5823-4), passed away shortly after the 9th Annual Meeting of the Natural Philosophy Alliance (NPA) at San Louis Obispo, California (May 13-17, 2002). He was a dedicated member of the NPA. The seminal Einsteinian relativity criticism of RCA television pioneer Herbert Eugene Ives, which was widely published in major peer-reviewed journals?and then ?forgotten? and ignored by the establishment (see IE #38)?was resurrected by the work of Dick Hazelett. We will sorely miss him. In his later years, Dick spent much of his time in philosophical pursuits at the intersection of science and religion. He was born a Mormon, but later in life converted to Judaism. - Infinite Energy #47
Benevolent Living: Tracing the Roots of Motivation to God, Hope Publishing House (1990).
