William “Bill” Putikka, 64, of Columbus, passed away on March 20, 2023, after a brief illness. He was born on March 16, 1959, in Wadena Minnesota, to the late Oliver and Mildred (Vik) Putikka. Interested in science from an early age, Bill received his Bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Minnesota and his PhD from the University of Wisconsin. After graduation, Bill moved to Switzerland to work at ETH-Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) on a NATO Fellowship. For the majority of Bill’s professional career, he was a physics professor at The Ohio State University in Mansfield, where he was an esteemed researcher and beloved teacher.