Sad News: Alfred G. Redfield, Emeritus Professor of Physics and Biochemistry
July 26, 2019
Dear Colleagues,
I write to share the sad news of the passing of Professor Emeritus of Physics and Biochemistry, Alfred G. Redfield on July 24, 2019 at the age of 90. He is survived by his children Samuel, Wendy, and Rebecca. His wife Sarah pre-deceased him in 2015.
Al was born in Milton, Massachusetts and grew up in Cambridge and then in Woods Hole where his father Alfred C. Redfield worked at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. According to his longtime colleague in the chemistry department, Professor Tom Pochapsky, “Al was very proud of his family (old Yankee stock!). His great-grandfather, William Redfield, was a naturalist who was the first person to understand the counter-clockwise circulation of hurricanes. The eye of such a storm passed over New York City in September of 1821, and Redfield noticed that trees in Connecticut had fallen towards the southwest, while south of the City, they fell to the northeast. His father, Alfred C. Redfield, was a physical oceanographer and also a National Academy of Sciences member, whose likeness (remarkably like Al’s!) is shown in bas-relief on the Redfield Building at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Al also claimed to be related in some fashion to Emily Dickinson, although how, he never made quite clear.”
Al Redfield graduated from Harvard College in 1950 with a BA and received his PhD from the University of Illinois in 1953. He returned to Harvard for a fellowship to undertake fundamental research in the technique of nuclear magnetic resonance in solids. From Harvard he moved in 1955 to the IBM Watson Laboratory at Columbia University where he continued this work concentrating on the properties of both normal and superconducting metals at very low temperatures. He also had a faculty appointment in the physics department at Columbia. In 1970 he received the IBM Outstanding Contribution Award for his High Resolution Pulsed Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer. In 1972 he joined the faculty at Brandeis as a tenured professor in the physics department. While his paycheck may have “retired” in 1999, he continued to be involved in research and the creation of new devices for many years after. He became a Member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003, and received the Biophysics Prize from the American Physical Society in 2005.
As shared by Tom Pochapsky, “He was one of the giants of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), particularly as it was applied to biological problems. As a teenager during WWII he learned circuitry and electronics that he would later apply to building his own NMR spectrometers. However, his genius was not limited to NMR; Redfield relaxation theory as applied to statistical systems has found application throughout the physical sciences. Yet the only publication of Redfield theory for several years was in the house research publication of Bell Labs, where he was employed at the time he developed the theory. It was not until later that the editors of Advances in Magnetic Resonance convinced him that it might be a good idea to publish Redfield theory ‘for real.’ His article became the centerpiece of the premier issue of that monograph series (Adv. Magn. Reson. 1, p.1 (1965)). Even so, he would say of Redfield theory when asked, ‘Well, it was just a better way of writing down what everybody already knew.’”
A tinkerer from his childhood, his colleagues have shared what a great match Brandeis was for him (and vice versa). Tom Pochapsky said, “Here, he could putter with his electronics, think about things, and take on a student or two without too much hassle. His home-built spectrometer was the first instrument I used when I got to Brandeis, and we got a lot of good data off that machine. Once we got a commercial NMR instrument installed, he knew he could get me nervous just by waving a soldering iron at the machine and threatening to ‘make it work better.’ Well, he probably could have. As his colleague Al was probably the single most important reason that I came to Brandeis, and he was my mentor and friend for many years. His unassuming nature (and admittedly odd wardrobe choices) belied a formidable intelligence. Ideas that he tossed off almost as an aside became the bases of complete careers for others.”
Al was a valued member of the Brandeis community over many decades and will be greatly missed.
Sincerely,
Lisa M. Lynch, Provost