Folksinger’s father famous as physicist

NOV 01, 2007

Robert W. Schmieder

The passing of Albert Baez (see his obituary on page 75) recalls a beautiful encounter. At a dinner party in 1982, I asked him how it was being the father of a famous person. He replied that he had gotten used to being eyed at conferences and inevitably being asked, “Are you any relation to [folk musician] Joan Baez?” On one occasion, as he saw a young physicist approach, he was sure he knew what was coming. But this time it was different. “I was astounded,” Baez said, “and thrilled, when he asked, ‘Are you Albert Baez, the inventor of the x-ray telescope?’”

More about the Authors

Robert W. Schmieder. (schmieder@nanologic.org) NanoLogic Inc, Walnut Creek, California, US .

This Content Appeared In

Volume 60, Number 11