In Memoriam

Published May 4, 2020

Amaris Hardy/Office of Communications

PHILIP ANDERSON, a Nobel laureate and professor emeritus of physics, died March 29 in Princeton. He was 96. Anderson joined the faculty in 1975 and transferred to emeritus status in 1996. His research on the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems influenced the development of electronic switching and memory devices in computers. Anderson shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1977 and received the National Medal of Science in 1982. Parts of his research are incorporated in the Standard Model of particle physics.

Princeton Weekly Bulletin

L. CARL BROWN, a professor emeritus of Near Eastern studies, died April 8 in Mitchellville, Maryland, at age 91. A member of the faculty from 1966 to 1993, Brown was a leader in North African studies. He served as chair of his department and director of the interdisciplinary Program in Near Eastern Studies. Brown wrote or edited more than a dozen books, including Religion and State: The Muslim Approach to Politics, published in 2000.

Denise Applewhite/Office of Communications

JOHN HORTON CONWAY, a professor known for his love of mathematical games and his ability to delve into a variety of theoretical topics, died April 11 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, from complications related to COVID-19. He was 82. Conway, who served on the mathematics faculty for 26 years, contributed significant research in fields ranging from theoretical physics to geometry. With Princeton colleague Simon Kochen, he developed a free-will theorem, published in Foundations of Physics in 2006. Conway’s “Game of Life,” a computer simulation that does not require input from the players, gained a cult following in the early 1970s.

Courtesy Spies family

CLAUDIO SPIES, a professor of music known for his work as a composer and scholar, died April 2 in Sonoma, California. He was 95. As a composer, Spies specialized in vocal scores. He taught courses on musical manuscripts, composition, conducting, performance, and musical analysis in his 28 years on the Princeton faculty. After transferring to emeritus status in 1998, he continued teaching at the Juilliard School. Spies also helped to bring the premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s last major composition, “Requiem Canticles,” to McCarter Theatre in 1966.

Published in the May 2020 Issue

In Memoriam