Roger G. Newton

Roger G. Newton, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Physics at Indiana University died peacefully in his home on April 14th at the age of 93. From his long list of academic and professional accomplishments in the field of mathematical physics one might conclude that Roger Newton spent his life doggedly pursuing a set of narrowly defined interests. But those who knew him best, recognized that even as he studied, taught, and published in his field, he avidly pursued his expansive curiosity and appreciation for everything from art and literature to music, photography, architecture, gardening, travel, fashion, food and wine, interior design to history and politics. The seeds of his passion for science and physics were sown in Nazi Germany. Born in Landsberg an der Warthe in 1924, he pursued his lifelong interest in physics from an early age. As a boy in Berlin, he showed signs of broader curiosities. At 14 he made his own short wave transistor radio in order to listen to the epic Joe Louis /Max Schmeling prize fight in 1938. After 1942, Roger and his brother endured years of forced labor while his mother spent the war imprisoned, having been caught by the Gestapo with plans to take the family to South America. As a Jew, his father was no longer able to practice dentistry. Spending the final months of the war hiding in the basement of their bombed apartment complex, Roger and his family were captives, in daily fear for their lives. After the war The United Jewish Appeal facilitated their exit from Germany to Buffalo, NY. Eventually changing his name from Neuweg to Newton (claiming to his last day that this had nothing to do with his passion for physics) he joined the US Army and was stationed in Japan. In the army he rapidly learned English and began planning his future. Applying to Harvard, thanks to the GI Bill, he matriculated as a Junior in 1947. While continuing his physics studies he audited courses in music, fine arts and literature and won the prestigious Bowdoin Prize for an essay on the philosophy of science. He remained at Harvard as a graduate student studying under the future Nobel Laureate, Julian Schwinger. The breadth of his intellectual curiosity paid off with lifetime dividends when he enrolled in Harry Levin’s famous Proust Joyce and Mann class and met his wife to be, Ruth Gordon. They married in 1953 and Roger accepted an appointment by J. Robert Oppenheimer to join The Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton where he occupied an office down the hall from Albert Einstein. In 1955, he and Ruth moved to Bloomington accepting a position at Indiana University where he eventually chaired and helped build the department of physics. In 1966 he published Scattering Theory of Waves and Particles which is still being used as a fundamental text for physics students today. As his career as a physicist flourished, he designed and helped build a house for his family in 1963 where his wife still lives today. With a fully equipped workshop in the basement, he built a tree house for his children and many pieces of thoughtfully designed furniture. Given his history with Fascism, it surprised many when in 1968, Roger vociferously supported the right of the Ku Klux Klan to march and debate on the IU campus, upholding the first amendment over his personal disgust. To those who knew him well, this was consistent with his unfailing intellectual honesty. On his multiple sabbaticals in Europe where he held visiting appointments at various universities including University of Rome, International School of Physics, University of Montpellier, France, and University of Geneva, he not only focused on specific physics problems, working with foreign colleagues, but explored his passion (and exposed his family) to Michelin starred restaurants, galleries and museums, challenging hiking trails in Switzerland, all lovingly (and maddeningly) captured by his ubiquitous Nikon cameras. In 1981, along with a group of prominent IU faculty, Roger founded and became the first Director of IU’s Institute for Advanced Study, with the mission of promoting collaborative intellectual exchange and nurturing innovative creative ideas. For many years he was also the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Mathematical Physics. His publications in the field of physics were numerous, and after his retirement in the mid-nineties he continued to write, publishing many books for a broader audience on subjects ranging from the nature of time to what makes nature tick. Meanwhile, as engaged members of the Bloomington community, he and his wife were avid attendees of music, opera and film. Many local denizens will remember seeing Roger walking four times a day to and from home, nattily dressed from his New York-tailored suits and fedoras to his European shoes. For years, his walks included the beloved family Schnauzer, William Jefferson, with whom he discussed, “Some of my deepest thoughts.” To his final days, he was reading a book a week on his kindle, from historical biographies to fiction to the latest John Grisham mysteries. Roger is survived by his wife Ruth, his three children, Julie (NJ), Rachel (NYC), Paul (CA), five grandchildren, one great grandchild and his beloved dog, Annie. His death leaves a hole both deep and broad. Allen Funeral Home and Crematory 4155 South Old State Road 37 is handling the arrangements and online condolences, photos and memories may be shared with family and friends at www.allencares.com

Tributes

Roger G. Newton

November 30, 1924 - April 14, 2018