Henry L. Laquer *48

Henry Laquer, a scientist who worked for the Los Alamos National Laboratory for 30 years, died Oct. 9, 2010. He was 90.

Born in Germany, Laquer completed his secondary education in Switzerland in 1940, and then emigrated with his family to Philadelphia. He graduated from Temple University in 1943, came to Princeton, and was awarded a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1948. In the fall of 1947, he went to Los Alamos, N.M., and joined the laboratory.

His career at Los Alamos involved early work on the physical properties of uranium and plutonium; later he worked on cryogenic superconducting magnets. After retiring from Los Alamos in 1977, Laquer had a successful second career consulting and investigating high-temperature superconductors with his company, Cryopower Associates.

A hiker and mountain climber, Laquer was still skiing in his mid-80s. In retirement, he pursued his interest in computers, taught courses on the subject, and ran a computer lab at a senior center.

He is survived by Justine, his wife of 63 years; three children; six grandchildren; and one great-grandson. A daughter died in 1995.

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