In Memoriam

Michael Tinkham Passes Away at 82

Broad thinker advanced both the theoretical and experimental understanding of superconductivity November 23, 2010 (HE51). Below we reproduce the integral text of the Harvard University obituary included in their press release of November 5, 2010.

Michael "Mike" Tinkham, whose latest appointment was as the Rumford Research Professor of Physics and Gordon McKay Research Professor of Applied Physics at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Department of Physics, passed away on November 4, 2010. He was 82 years old.

Born on February 23, 1928 in Green Lake County, Wisconsin, Tinkham earned his undergraduate degree at Ripon College in 1951 and his Master's and Ph.D. degrees, both in physics, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in 1951 and 1954 respectively. He also spent a year at the Clarendon Laboratory of Oxford as a postdoctoral fellow.

He joined the University of California, Berkeley in 1957, rising to full professor, and then left in 1966 for Harvard, where he remained for the rest of his career. Tinkham's research focused primarily on superconductivity, as captured in his classic text, Introduction to Superconductivity. In his later years he was active in studying the unique properties of materials when sample dimensions are reduced to the nanometer range.

In the Journal of Superconductivity, Tinkham's former student Christopher Lobb '80 (Ph.D., Applied Physics), wrote:

The opportunity to work with Mike ... was one of the greatest experiences of my life. As a researcher, Mike's rare combination of experimental and theoretical ability has kept him at the top of the field for decades. As a teacher, Mike worked constantly to make things understandable, and did so with enthusiasm and wit. Any success I've had since leaving his group has largely been due to what I learned from him ...

Tinkham's awards and honors included election to the National Academy of Sciences; the receipt of the Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize; and the Fred E. Saalfeld Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement in Science in 2005.

January 15, 2010 (HE38).  Praveen Chaudhari, the prominent science manager and scientist, long time the IBM Vice-President of Science and lately Director of the Brookhaven National Laboratory, prematurely passed away in the night of 12 January 2010.  During his long tenure at IBM, he contributed in a major way to superconductivity.

Of his many direct contributions, the seminal and most prominent one is the systematic investigation of critical current dependence upon the grain boundary angle in rare earth cuprates (YBCO). This resulted in thus far the most reliable and broadly used technology of high-Tc Josephson junctions used in SQUIDs, HTS voltage standards, etc.  Furthermore, the bicrystal work provided foundation for the experimental confirmation and investigations of d-wave pairing in cuprates. It also led to the development of the HTS coated conductor technology. Also, at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), he supported superconducting materials research and participated in it.  The summary of his recent results and thoughts on the grain boundaries in cuprates is given in his plenary EUCAS 2009 talk pre-published in our Issue 11 (to appear in Superconductor Science and Technology 2010).  For his achievements, Chaudhari has been honored with a number of awards.  He was an APS Fellow and member of the US National Academy of Engineering.  We reproduce his photo dating a few years back.
 

Vitaly L. Ginzburg – Brief Obituary

November 10, 2009 (HE36). Vitaly L. Ginzburg, 93, the co-author of the Ginzburg-Landau (GL) phenomenological theory of superconductivity preceding the microscopic BCS theory, died on November 8, 2009, apparently due to cardiac arrest.

Ginzburg, born on October 4th, 1916, in Moscow, Russia, graduated with Ph.D. in 1940 and D. Sc. in 1942. At that time he worked at the Lebedev Physical Institute in Moscow. He made also significant contribution to astrophysics and to nuclear fusion, specifically the Soviet H- bomb. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2003, essentially for the GL theory. Readers interested in Ginzburg’s personal story and his views should refer to his brief autobiography, and an interview he most recently gave the Physics World (IOP). We reproduce his relatively recent photo (2003).

Zdenek J. J. Stekly, Sc.D October 11, 1933-April 3, 2009

WAYLAND: Dr. Zdenek J. J. “John” Stekly, 75, succumbed on April 3, 2009 after a long battle with coronary heart disease.

He was born on October 11, 1933 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, the son of the late Karel A. Stekly and Jindriska (Wolfstahl) Stekly.

Dr. Stekly was the beloved husband of Suzanne Gibbs Stekly of Wayland. He was the loving father of Susan Stekly Williams and her husband Stephen W. Williams of Framingham, Paul F. Stekly and his wife Ashby Free of Cave Creek, AZ and of the late J. Steven Stekly. He leaves 5 grandchildren, a niece and 2 nephews.

After escaping Nazi occupied Czechoslavia, Dr. Stekly relocated temporarily to England before moving to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil where he spent the majority of his youth. Accepted into MIT at the age of sixteen, Dr Stekly completed his studies, the first in his class, receiving a BS in Mechanical Engineering, and a Masters in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in 1955. In 1959 he received his Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering.

After working for AVCO Everett Research Lab, Dr. Stekly worked as chairman of Magnetic Corporation of America, specializing in the production of superconducting magnets for use in MRI Scanners, Maglev research, Dept of Defense and the Dept of Energy.

A pioneer in superconductivity applications, Dr Stekly developed the ‘Stekly Stability Criterion’ which defines the maximum efficient operating capacity of superconducting wire.

Inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 1981, Dr. Stekly was also a member of the American Physical Society and the New England Council. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the FSH Society, Inc (Muscular Dystrophy). He belonged to the Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity.

At the request of the family, there will be no services at this time. Private services will be held for the family at a later date. For those who desire, gifts in his memory may be sent to the FSH Society Inc., 64 Grove St, Watertown, MA 02472. (IEEE CSC)

Masaki Suenaga - Feb. 13, 2009
Masaki Suenaga of Bellport, a retired award-winning scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory and an adjunct professor at Stony Brook University, died Feb. 13 at age 71.

Dr. Suenaga received the IEEE Council on Superconductivity Awards For Contributions in the Field Of Applied Superconductivity during the 2008 Applied Superconductivity Conference, which was held last September in Chicago, IL. After receiving his Award, Dr. Suenaga said, "I feel fortunate that I've been able to do work that I like and that my research has resulted in useful technologies."

Suenaga's study of the superconductor niobium-tin helped to lay the groundwork for the first high-temperature superconductor power transmission cable system. That system, installed last year by the Long Island Power Authority in Holbrook, allows for the use of far less cable to conduct many times more power than more traditional systems.

Born in Shimonoseki, Japan, Suenaga moved to the United States after high school, and attended the University of California at Berkeley. There, he earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering in 1962, a master's degree in engineering in 1964, and a doctorate in metallurgy in 1969.
Yoko Suenaga, his wife, said her husband loved reading, studying and researching everything. "For instance," she said, "before we'd go to Italy or Spain, he'd borrow books and study their history and culture ... He was devoted to research, a never-ending job ... his whole life."
Suenaga was diagnosed with leukemia about two years ago, and retired from Brookhaven Lab about that time, his wife said, but he maintained office space at the lab, and continued to work three days a week as a guest scientist.

He first joined Brookhaven Lab in 1969 as an assistant metallurgist, moving up through higher positions over the years until he became senior metallurgist in 1983. He was an adjunct professor of material sciences at Stony Brook, and was honored in November by the lab with the title of Senior Scientist Emeritus.

Diane Greenberg, a lab spokeswoman said in a statement after his death, "The title is given to BNL retired scientists ... who have made particularly noteworthy contributions to the Laboratory's reputation as a world-class scientific institution."

In addition to his wife, of Bellport, he is survived by his mother, Aiko Suenaga of Shimonoseki; two sons, Ken of Yokohoma, Japan, and Ben of Manhattan; and two grandsons.

Suenaga was to be buried in Japan this week.
A memorial service is tentatively planned for next month on Long Island.
Source: Newsday, 21 February 2009

Hiromi Hirabayashi 1934–2008

Hiromi Hirabayashi, a leading figure and professor emeritus of KEK, passed away on 11 April 2008. He was an internationally renowned pioneer in the field of applied superconductivity and cryogenics for high-energy physics.

Hirabayashi was born in Gifu Prefecture, renowned for the Shirakawa-go world heritage site. He was educated in nuclear engineering at the graduate school of Tokyo Institute of Technology, where he gained his PhD in 1966, before becoming a research associate at the Institute of Nuclear Study at the University of Tokyo. He worked on preparations for the National Laboratory for High Energy Physics, or KEK, now the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, in particular in developing a hydrogen bubble chamber, essential for high-energy physics experiments in Japan. At the same time he established cryogenics – the necessary basic engineering – as a new academic discipline in Japan, and contributed to the development of applied superconductivity and cryogenics in collaboration with Japanese industry.

Moving as an associate professor to KEK when it was set up in 1971, Hirabayashi became a key person in the development of the KEK 1 m bubble chamber. From 1979, as professor, he led the construction of the primary proton and secondary (kaon and pion) beam lines at the KEK 12 GeV proton synchrotron. With excellent foresight, he advocated the importance of applied superconductivity and cryogenic engineering for accelerator science at the energy frontier of particle physics and was able to develop these areas through his strong leadership. His activities in these fields extended internationally through the developments of a superconducting secondary beam line at KEK, superconducting magnets for the TRISTAN project, a challenging 10 T dipole magnet for future accelerators, and collaborations on superconducting magnet development for the Superconducting Super Collider project, the g-2 experiment at Brookhaven, the WASA experiment at Uppsala University and the LHC project at CERN. He made Japanese superconducting magnet technologies for accelerator and particle physics highly appreciated throughout the world.

Hirabayashi went on to become head of the Experiment Management Division, head of the Cryogenics Center, and director of the Applied Research Laboratory at KEK. In 1995 he was invited to head the Safety and Environment Research Center at the National Institute for Fusion Science, where he used his extensive experience and knowledge to advise on the construction of the Large Helical Device.

He contributed to several boards and committees, as a member of the international cryogenic engineering committee in 1990–1999, chairman of the cryogenic society of Japan in 1992–1994, and a member and chairperson of the superconductivity and cryogenics panel of the international committee for future accelerators in 1987–1995. He was also the Asian editor of Cryogenics from 1987–1996. His exceptional work in the field was recognized with the IEEE Award for Continuing and Significant Contributions Page 2 of 2 in the Field of Applied Superconductivity and the special award for superconducting technology from the Society of Non-Traditional Technology.

After retirement in 1998, with a view to the environment and energy saving, Hirabayashi highlighted the need for the "convergence of liquid hydrogen and superconducting technology". His ideas for future society and technology leave an important legacy.

Hirabayashi’s most important contribution was to devote energy to train the next generation to work in the fields of superconductivity and cryogenics and the development of these technologies. He trained many young scientists who now work actively in accelerator science and particle physics.

Hirabayashi’s sudden death has been received with deep sadness not only by people in Japan but worldwide.

Takakazu Shintomi and Akira Yamamoto, KEK.