Lawrence Nelson Mertz ’51

Larry died Feb. 28, 2002, in Palo Alto, Calif., of prostate cancer. He came to Princeton from Jamaica HS, on Long Island, and was a physics major. He roomed with Bill Bennett, Howard Cohen, Clark Dowling, David Feldstein, and Hank Myers. After graduation, he became a junior research physicist at Baird Associates.

Following military service, he went on to Harvard for an MA, and later, a PhD in astronomy. He pioneered many novel Fourier spectroscopy techniques and cofounded Block Associates. His work ultimately blossomed into a thriving market. He later joined the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and in 1973, spent a sabbatical at the Meudon Observatory near Paris. In 1978, he joined the Lockheed Research Laboratory in Palo Alto, before retiring to start a new company, Digiphase. His publications include "Transformations in Optics" and "Excursions in Astronomical Optics."

Larry married the former Françoise Dorel, who survives him, together with his sons, Jerome '84 and Pierre *96, and his brothers, Harvey and Robert. He was predeceased by a third son, Thomas. The class salutes the passing of a gifted scientist.

The Class of 1951