Lucas died of cancer March 30, 2014, in Pasadena, Calif.
Lucas was born in Kingston-on-Thames, England, and prepared at Eerste Vrijzinnig Christelijk Lyceum in The Hague, Netherlands. At Princeton, he majored in astrophysics and was active in Circle K and high school tutoring. He ate at Colonial and in his senior year roomed with Allan Klein, Greg Sachnewycz, Gary Soverow, and Frank Sysyn. Lucas obtained a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, both in astronomy and astrophysics.
During his career he was an NRC research affiliate at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and was an assistant professor of astronomy at Boston University. He ultimately joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Caltech, where he remained until his death.
Lucas received several awards from NASA, including the NASA Individual Exceptional Service Medal. He was an author or co-author of 190 scientific publications. An avid linguist, Lucas spoke four languages fluently and studied many others. He was an active member of Amnesty International in Southern California, where he was co-coordinator of Group 22.
Lucas is survived by his brothers, Anton and Harry, and their families in the Netherlands. To them, the class extends its deepest sympathy.