Birth date: Aug 14, 1938 Death date: Jun 27, 2025
Charles Lee Wilkins “Charlie”, age 86, passed away peacefully on June 27, 2025, after a short illness in Fayetteville, AR, surrounded by the love of his family. He will be deeply missed. Charlie was born on August 14, 1938 in Lo Read Obituary
One of the most remarkable qualities of Dr. Wilkins was his unwavering commitment to fairness. He consistently stood up for students who were being treated unjustly, always advocating for what was right—no matter the circumstances. It is a trait I will carry with me for the rest of my life, along with the deep respect for scientific knowledge that he exemplified during the time I knew him.
Charlie was an exceptional colleague and a tremendous asset to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. His impact on the field is widely recognized, extending far beyond this campus; I often hear his name spoken with admiration when I visit other universities and mention my affiliation with UAF. Remarkably, even in his eighties, he continues to visit the department on weekends, generously providing his own funds to maintain instruments. Charlie was a devoted scientist who pursued excellence in his field, a commitment he maintained until his final years.
Charlie was internationally famous for his work on Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry and won many awards in his long and distinguished career. He was instrumental in setting up the Statewide mass spectrometry facility at the university of Arkansas. I will remember him as a warm, friendly and supportive senior colleague who was always there to advise me as a junior faculty member setting up my lab and writing my first research proposals when I arrived here in 2008. One of the first events that I attended when I started was a symposium to honor his 70th birthday, where I got to meet a number of his former students, mentees and collaborators. It was immediately clear to me how impactful he had been to many others.
Once I was established, we discussed triboluminescence and wrote grant proposals to combine fluorescence and mass spectrometry to study the phenomenon. More recently, once I became chair and although he had just retired, he was still there to offer advice based on his own experiences as a chair and associate dean at UC-Riverside. I went to numerous dinners with him over the years as we hosted departmental seminar speakers and was always entertained and enthralled by his stories.
I first met Distinguished Professor Charles Wilkins when he joined our University of Arkansas Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in 1998. Charlie played a key role in the development of our department. He was a pioneer in the field of Mass Spectrometry and developed the first Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometer. He received the 1997 ACS Franklin and Field Award for Outstanding Achievement in Mass Spectrometry, and many other awards. Professor Wilkins established the University of Arkansas Statewide Mass Spectrometry Facility in 1999 which continues to play an essential role in research at the University of Arkansas and throughout the State. Charles Wilkins played a key role in writing the NIH research proposal for the NIH COBRE Center for Protein Structure and Function which was established in 2000 and resulted in hiring sixteen outstanding new faculty members and brought in more than 28 million dollars to the University of Arkansas. I have greatly enjoyed working with Charlie at the University of Arkansas for the past 27 years.
Francis Millett
My condolences to the Wilkins family. I first met Dr. Wilkins in July, 1981 when I began my PhD studies at UC Riverside. Back then the smog was bad enough that often you could not see Box Springs Mountain, a soaring peak of about 1500 feet and only two or three miles away from our lab. I was always impressed that every day at lunchtime I would see Dr. Wilkins out for his daily run no matter how thick the air was. That steady determination was visible in all of the projects that he tackled, and was a valuable life lesson for someone who as an undergraduate considered anything that needed more than two all-nighters a near-impossible task. As one of the many students you supported and taught, thank you.
Carl Ijames
Dr Wilkins (I could never bring myself to call him Charlie) was my PhD mentor. He welcomed me in his lab when I first came to UofA for a summer exchange program with limited command of spoken English. He was very supportive throughout my stay, cementing my decision to come back and pursue PhD track in his lab. I will always remember his dry humor that would come out unexpectedly and delight you as well as his tenacity and scientific rigor. He set a high bar for his students, but that made me to push myself further and strive to do better, which is what I carry with me to this day. He was a great mentor to me and I will always remember my time with him with deep gratitude.
When I was applying to Ph.D. programs in the U.S., I reached out to many faculty members in different universities, but I’ll never forget the kind and encouraging response I received from Dr. Charles Wilkins at the University of Arkansas. He replied quickly, shared helpful information about the application process, and made me feel welcomed. That email played a key role in my decision to apply here, and I’m now pursuing my Ph.D. in chemistry thanks to that first connection.
I later had the honor of taking his courses and having him on my committee. Dr. Wilkins was a brilliant scientist and a truly kind person. I’ll always remember his support and the impact he had on my journey.
I only met Charlie a few times, but from the times I did, Charlie was always a kind and patient man. When Ingrid's research lab went to the ACS conference in the spring of 2025, Charlie was there as well. He had rented a scooter to ride around the conference center and I remember him telling me about it. He said "look at how fast it goes" and I thought he was going to race me right then and there. He was smiling the whole time. I'm glad I got the chance to see him still be a kid. My heart goes out to his family and friends. Always stay young.
