Locals warned Emory Associate Professor of Russian Studies Juliette Apkarian that the weather on Armenia’s Mt. Aragats had been bitterly cold and rainy for weeks. However, on October 22, the day set for a dedication ceremony in honor of her late husband, the air on the mountain was crystal clear and the weather sunny and warm. Even historical Mt. Ararat could be seen in the distance, a sight most Armenians rarely catch a glimpse of through the clouds.

Apkarian’s husband, Robert Apkarian, founder and director of Emory’s Integrated Microscopy and Microanalytical Facility, died tragically last February in a motorbike accident. When people learned of his death, shockwaves resonated through communities, both at Emory and abroad, especially in Armenia, said Apkarian, where her husband, an Armenian American, had spent over a decade supporting the work of microscopic scientists and professionals.

“After his death, we got many calls from people wanting to know when the service here [in America] would be because Rob’s friends in Armenia wanted to arrange a simultaneous ceremony,” she said.

In lieu of flowers, she asked that donations be made instead to the Armenian tree project, a nongovernmental organization that aims to repopulate the nation’s forests after having undergone massive deforestation during the energy crisis. But when the contributions started arriving, the project society suggested that an entire forest be dedicated to her husband instead of a grove of trees.

“We started examining appropriate settings that would reflect Rob’s interests – we looked at a few places but [we had to consider] the real problem of deforestation in Armenia and we also needed a commitment of security for the forest,” Apkarian said.

It was when she contemplated her husband’s love of mountains and his commitment to science that she thought of the Cosmic Ray Institute, situated on the slopes of Mt. Aragats, Armenia’s tallest mountain and one that Robert had hiked on numerous occasions. This was also a place where he had brought friends and colleagues on trips to deliver equipment and offer technical support. Robert Apkarian, who is recognized worldwide for developing methods now considered essential to the field and is responsible for forming Armenia’s first microscopy society, was awarded the Recognition of Service Award by the Microscopy Society of America and was selected to be an honorary doctorate at the Armenian National Academy of Sciences.

Apkarian planted the first tree at the ceremony, a maple. The forest, which will cover the slopes around the Institute, will ultimately include five hundred decorative and fruit-bearing trees.

Apkarian is now looking more closely at ways that she and the Emory community can continue her husband’s work in Armenia by delivering equipment and educating young scientists.

“Everybody remembers that when times were toughest in Armenia, when there was no heat and no electricity in the Soviet and post-Soviet-era, Rob was always there,” she said. “This forest is one way that the community there could preserve his memory.”