An associate physicist at the Ames Laboratory, died unexpectedly at his home on May 19 after experiencing an epileptic seizure.
Malvern Iles, who graduated from Iowa State with a Bachelors of Science degree in Physics in 1978, was found dead on May 21. He had died of a convulsive disorder due to the seizure.
Iles was born in Cedar Rapids in 1954 and attended Pleasant Valley High School. While he attended Iowa State, he worked as a research helper at the Ames Lab.
After his graduation from Iowa State, he was employed as an assistant physicist at the Ames Lab. In 1981 he was promoted to assistant physicist II. In January Iles was made an associate hysicist.
Richard Kniseley, a senior chemist at the Ames Lab, called Iles "a brilliant fellow." Kniseley added that Iles' death will be a "real loss" to the Ames Lab because of Iles' ability to work in many different areas simultaneously.
Iles had entered graduate school last fall as a part-time student in order to obtain an advanced degree in physics.