Obituaries

William "Bill" Sears, a consultant to NASA and the Air Force surgeon general in the field of aerospace physiology, has died at 76.

A retired colonel and 28-year Air Force veteran, Sears died Sept. 30 of complications from esophageal cancer.

Sears, whose doctorate and master's degrees in medical physiology were from the University of Southern California, was stationed at the School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks AFB.

From 1973 to 1975, he participated in an exchange officer program with the Royal Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine in Farnborough, England.

"He had a hand in starting that program and was the first to volunteer to go to England," said daughter Patricia Atherton.

Sears went to work at Southwest Research Institute after retiring from the Air Force and was director of bioengineering.

He was senior research scientist at Technology Inc. and president of Aerospace Associates Inc.

In addition to his work with NASA and the surgeon general of the Air Force, he was a consultant for Boeing and more than 30 other companies.

NASA officials called on Sears after the Jan. 28, 1986, accident in which the space shuttle Challenger disintegrated after liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Atherton said.

All seven crew members, including Christa McAuliffe, who was to be the first teacher in space, were killed.

"NASA showed up at the house and consulted with him for several hours on scenarios that could have been, like how long the astronauts survived," Atherton said.

Sears played a direct role in the development of chemical defense and high-altitude protective equipment and procedures used by air crews and medical personnel.

An avid bridge player, he achieved Life Master rank in 2003. Only players who have earned 300 or more master points are given that status.

"As proud as he was of his accomplishments, he was more about the family," Atherton said. "He would have done anything for any of us at any time."