Darwin L. Wood ’42

Darwin Wood, physicist and inventor, was born in 1921 in East Orange, N.J., and died Dec. 6, 2012. His father, Ernest B. Wood ’15, was a telephone engineer with Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Dar prepared at Chatham (N.J.) High School. At Princeton he majored in physics and was awarded Sigma Xi. He joined Terrace Club and was a member of the fencing team.

After graduation from college, Dar worked for four years at Rohm and Haas. During this time he and Gertrude Lauterwasser were married and ultimately produced six children (Scott, David, Douglas, Tina, Christopher, and Lawrence).

Dar earned a Ph.D. in physics from Ohio State in 1950, after which he spent six years at the University of Michigan teaching physics and biophysics. A call from Bell Laboratories resulted in his return to New Jersey. Dar’s work on infrared microspectroscopy brought him widespread recognition, including the Williams-Wright Award and appointment as distinguished member of the technical staff of Bell Laboratories. He retired from Bell in 1988.

Dar’s work with the Boy Scouts and his love of the natural world brought additional meaning into his life. To Gertrude; his six children and their spouses; and his grandchildren, the class sends sympathy.