Alexander Isaac Solomon In Memoriam

Transcription

1 Journal of Physics: Conference Series OPEN ACCESS Alexander Isaac Solomon In Memoriam To cite this article: R Kerner 2015 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser View the article online for updates and enhancements. This content was downloaded from IP address on 09/05/2018 at 06:30

2 30th International Colloquium on Group Theoretical Methods in Physics (Group30) Alexander Isaac Solomon In Memoriam R Kerner Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris-VI University), 4 Place Jussieu, Paris, France richard.kerner@upmc.fr Allan Solomon: Glasgow, Watford, Our colleague and friend Allan Solomon passed away in his home in Watford, England, UK, on April 3, 2013, after a long and brave fight with a terrible cancer. Allan was one of the most brilliant and active members of the Standing Committee of the International Colloquia on Group-Theoretical Methods in Physics (ICGTMP) until 2009, and Honorary Member until his last days. He was also a permanent member of the Conference Board of the International Symposia on Quantum Theory and Symmetries (QTS). Allan s life was successful and exemplary in many ways: - He had a beautiful family and was a beloved husband, father and grandfather; - As a scientist, he was successful as an outstanding researcher in both applied and theoretical physics; - He displayed his pedagogical skills in a novel form of popularising science on radio and television; - He served as President of the Watford & District Synagogue and was a great friend and defender of Israel; - He was a staunch promoter of academic freedom, international collaboration and tolerance. Allan s scientific activity, rich and original, can be characterized as a deep exploration of the physical consequences of various symmetries in physics, especially in quantum phenomena. Besides the ICGTMP colloquia, Allan participated many times in the conference series Symmetries in Science and in other workshops and colloquia. Alexander Isaac Solomon was born in Glasgow on December 11th, Soon after, his family moved to Belfast where his father worked with Allan s uncle in the family music business. Allan attended primary school in Belfast. Later on, Allan s family moved to Dublin where Allan Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. Published under licence by Ltd 1

3 30th International Colloquium on Group Theoretical Methods in Physics (Group30) continued his education at Wesley College and won a Foundation Scholarship in 1956 to fund his studies at university. He studied science at Trinity College, Dublin, and later on in Cambridge, England. For his postgraduate studies Allan went to Peterhouse College, Cambridge, where he worked on elementary particles and then to Orsay, France, where he obtained a doctorate in Theoretical Physics in The same year he married Paulette Baroukh, who he had met in Paris while studying at the Sorbonne. It was in Paris that Allan began his lifetime love of all things French and especially a certain appreciation of joie de vivre. Paulette was always a great support for Allan in both good times and bad and was fascinated by her husband s academic work. She accompanied him all over the world on his scientific trips, while continuing her own career with people affected by learning difficulties. She passed away in June 2014, less than two years after Allan s death. Allan and his wife Paulette with their daughters Annabel (centre) and Nathalie (right) in 1997 In 1963 when Americans were coming to Europe and causing a true brain-drain by hiring young graduates in scientific and medical fields, Allan was at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and was offered a job in the United States to work in the Republic Aviation industry. He also worked for N.A.S.A. studying cosmic radiation and its effects on supersonic travel. Although Allan very much enjoyed being in New York and for his area of research he pined for academia and accepted a considerably lower-paid job teaching at New York Polytechnic University in Brooklyn. Academic research was confirmed as Allan s passion and when Yuval Ne eman invited him to work at the recently-established Tel Aviv University, he gladly accepted despite a move to the Levant and a further drop in salary. He and Paulette then returned to the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies with their baby daughter, Nathalie. There he spent two fruitful years working alongside and forging life-long friendships with Professor J.L. Synge and Professor C. Lanczos. 2

4 30th International Colloquium on Group Theoretical Methods in Physics (Group30) Allan and Paulette, 48 years after their first meeting in Paris His next job was in England, at the newly-established Open University and it was there where Allan found his raison d e tre. He was a joyful character and liked to report some of his travels and conferences with humour when he described them in The Times Higher Education Supplement under the column known as Don s Diary. Allan s position at the Open University gave him plenty of free time and during his life he was able to pursue research in collaboration with colleagues in Italy, Israel, China, Singapore and France as well as giving lectures in many other places. His scientific interests concentrated around the influence of symmetries on various phenomena in quantum physics, including magnetism, superconductivity, ferroelectricity and, later on, coherent and entangled states, quantum information and cryptography. In the eighties he collaborated with Jacob Katriel and Mario Rasetti, and above all with Joseph Birman, with whom he co-authored 15 publications, including their magnum opus on an SU(8) grand unification of superconductivity and various charge and spin density waves. After writing numerous textbooks for the Open University, Allan went on to make over 150 radio and television broadcasts with the BBC, lecturing to Open University students around the world. Allan thoroughly enjoyed making television programmes even if his long hair, flared trousers and horn-rimmed square glasses inspired much laughter in Irish and British comic circles. In the late seventies Allan joined an International group of scientists, headed by Joe Birman and several other eminent Western scholars, and travelled to the former USSR to visit Soviet scientists who were refuseniks who had been kicked out of their universities. Allan and other visiting scientists gave them lectures in their homes, often huddled in small kitchens, to keep their Soviet counterparts up-to-date with the latest research in their fields. Starting from the mid-nineties, after his retirement from the Open University, Allan developed an intense collaboration with the Parisian group headed by Karol Penson, working on coherent states and combinatorics. His co-authors of this period included Sonia Schirmer, Apostol Vourdas, Hongchen Fu, Ge rard Duchamp, Pawel Blasiak and Kasia Go rska. During all this time, Allan was greatly contributing to the activities of the ICGTMP Standing 3

5 30th International Colloquium on Group Theoretical Methods in Physics (Group30) Committee, bringing his wise and considered views and opinions, combining scientific honesty with both tolerance and humanity. Allan and Paulette came to cherish Allan s colleagues as friends, sharing many good times with all of us. He always loved meeting us and loved visiting our homes and meeting our families. He bonded with all of us in different ways and accompanied us through different stages over 40 years. In early 2011 he underwent a major operation which appeared to have been successful and he attended the 7th QTS Symposium in Prague in August Shortly afterwards, however, his health deteriorated rapidly. He fought the terrible disease very bravely and Paulette tried all possible avenues to find an efficient treatment. Unfortunately, however, this was to no avail. Allan passed away on April 3, He will be missed and remembered by his family and friends and by all colleagues who had the privilege to meet him and to appreciate his deep knowledge, his openness, his inimitable affability and his wonderful sense of humour. Acknowledgments The author expresses his gratitude to Nathalie and Annabel Solomon for their help during the preparation of the manuscipt. Thanks are also due to Laurence Boyle and Joris Van der Jeugt for the careful reading and improving the quality of this text. 4