TWRA officers recovered the body of 66-year-old Scott Northrup of Putnam County on Center Hill Lake around 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 11. The body was recovered using a remote operated vehicle in about 33 feet of water in the Florida Branch section of the lake. This location was less than 150 yards away from where Northrup’s boat was recovered.
Northrup’s body was taken to the DeKalb County Coroner’s office. Northrup was not wearing a personal floatation device. Search crews included TWRA officers, the Dekalb County sheriff’s office and Dekalb County search and rescue.
Northrup was reported missing around 5:30 p.m. on Friday when he did not return home from a fishing trip as expected. His truck and trailer were found at the Hurricane boat ramp and his boat was later recovered from the water around 7:30 p.m. TWRA crews and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s office searched late into the night. The search resumed early this morning. The incident remains under investigation.
Northrup held a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a TTU professor emeritus specializing in Physical Chemistry, Computa-tional Chemistry, Molecular Modeling of Proteins and Nucleic Acids.
A Christian, according to his website, Northrup believed science and Christianity were very compatible.
“Too many people have the impression that Christianity and science are incompatible,” his website states. “It is ironic then that one of the first truly “modern” scientists, and arguably the father of chemistry, was a deeply committed Christian, Robert Boyle (1627-1691).
Boyle’s great contribution was to transform chemistry from medieval mysticism and charlatanism into an effective branch of science based firmly on experimental evidence.
He is credited with the discovery that the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to its volume, something that introductory chemistry students learn as Boyle’s Law. He had no trouble reconciling his Christian beliefs with his science, and in fact his belief in the orderliness and logic of nature devolved directly from his belief in the intelligence and orderliness of the Creator.”
