- Albert Baez
Albert Vinicio Baez, Ph.D. (
November 15 ,1912 [ [http://pawley.blogalia.com/historias/23214 días estranhos] ] , –March 20 ,2007 [ [http://www.marinij.com/ci_5481711?source=rss Noted scientist was father of Joan Baez and Mimi Farina - Marin Independent Journal] ] ) was a prominentMexican-American physicist , and the father of singerJoan Baez . He was born in Puebla,Mexico , and his family moved to theUnited States when he was two years old because his father was aMethodist minister. Baez grew up inBrooklyn and considered becoming a minister before turning tomathematics andphysics .Early life
Baez earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics from
Drew University in 1933 and then a master's degree in physics fromSyracuse University in 1935. In 1936, he married Joan Chandos Bridge, the daughter of an Episcopalian minister. The couple becameQuakers and had three daughters, Pauline, Joan and Mimi. Together they moved toCalifornia , where he pursued adoctorate in physics. In 1948, along withStanford University professorPaul Kirkpatrick (1894–1992), Baez developed the X-ray reflection microscope for examination of living cells. Thismicroscope is still used today inmedicine . Baez received his PhD in physics from Stanford in 1950. After graduating, he developed zone plates—concentric circles of alternating opaque and transparent materials to use diffraction instead of refraction to focus X-rays. Unfortunately, much of his work had to await the development ofsynchrotron X-rays sources several decades later.Academic life
As the
Cold War arose in the 1950s, Baez's talents were in high demand for the developingarms race . However, influenced by his family's pacifist beliefs, he refused lucrativewar industry jobs, preferring instead to devote his career toeducation andhumanitarianism . From 1950 to 1956, he held a professorship at theUniversity of Redlands , where he continued his X-ray research. Baez took a yearlong leave to work withUNESCO in 1951, stationing his family inBaghdad to establish the physics department and laboratory at Baghdad University. In 1959, Baez accepted a faculty position at MIT, and moved his family to the Boston area. In 1960, working with theSmithsonian Astrophysical Observatory inCambridge, MA , he developed optics for an X-ray telescope. Later that year he moved to the faculty ofHarvey Mudd College , and moved his family toClaremont, California . From 1961 to 1967, he directed science teaching for UNESCO in Paris.Baez was the author of the textbook "The New College Physics: A Spiral Approach" (1967). He was also the co-author of the textbook "The Environment and Science and Technology Education" (1987) and the memoir "A Year in Baghdad" (1988). Baez was not limited to print media though, making almost 100 films about physics for the
Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corp from 1967 to 1974. Baez also chaired the Commission on Education of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources from 1979 to 1983.Retirement
After his retirement, Baez occasionally delivered physics lectures and was president of
Vivamos Mejor /USA, an organization founded in 1988 to help impoverished villages inMexico . Its projects includepreschool education , environmental projects, and community and educational activities. In 1991, theInternational Society for Optical Engineering awarded him and Kirkpatrick the Dennis Gabor Award for pioneering contributions to the development of X-ray imaging microscopes and X-ray imaging telescopes. In 1995, theHispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation (HENAAC) established the Albert V. Baez Award for Technical Excellence and Service to Humanity. Baez himself was inducted into the HENAAC Hall of Fame in 1998.Baez was the father of folk singers
Joan Baez andMimi Fariña , and Pauline Bryan; he also was the uncle ofmathematical physicist John Baez . He had three grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. He died of natural causes March 20, 2007 at age 94 in theRedwood City care home where he had lived for the prior three years.Sources
* [http://www.richardandmimi.com/parents.html Albert Baez bio on Mimi Farina website]
* [http://www.answers.com/topic/1948 Science and technology discoveries, 1948]
* "A Year in Baghdad", Albert V. Baez and Joan Baez (Daniel & Daniel Pub 1988)
* [http://www.henaac.org/halloffame/inductees.php HENAAC Hall of Fame Inductees]
* [http://www.marinij.com/fastsearchresults/ci_5484248 Marin Independent Journal obituary]
* [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/25/BAGM5ORCCQ1.DTL SF Chronicle Obituary]
* [http://www.hmc.edu/newsandevents/albertbaezobit.html Former Harvey Mudd College Faculty Member Albert Baez Dies at Age 94]
* [http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2007/may16/baez-051607.html Stanford Obituary]References
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