Jayme Tiomno *50

Jayme Tiomno, a prominent Brazilian physicist, died Jan. 12, 2011, at home of natural causes. He was 90.

Born in Rio de Janeiro to Russian immigrants, Tiomno graduated in 1941 from what is now the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). In 1950, he earned a Ph.D. in physics from Princeton. He studied with, among others, Eugene P. Wigner, his dissertation adviser, who later was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1963.

Tiomno was a theoretical physicist, teaching at the University of Brasilia, the University of São Paulo, and the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. He was one of the founders of the Brazilian Physics Society, a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, and a recipient of the Brazilian Order of Scientific Merit.

As one of Brazil’s leading physicists, he was highly respected by the international physicist community. Professor Luiz Davidovich of UFRJ wrote that Tiomno “inspired several generations of students. It is also important to emphasize that he was fired from his teaching post and forced to go into early retirement by the military dictatorship.”

Tiomno is survived by his wife, physicist Elisa Frota Pessoa.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.