Howard A. Scott

Howard Allen Scott, a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), died a few weeks shy of his 70th birthday, with his family by his side, from complications arising from heart surgery. Howard was the author of the CRETIN code, which is a nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) atomic kinetics and radiation transfer code used at LLNL and many institutions around the world for modeling astrophysical and other complex plasmas.

Howard was born to Harold and Naomi Scott and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, one of four brothers. He graduated in 1975 from Dartmouth College, majoring in math and physics, and was awarded Phi Beta Kappa membership. In addition, Howard was a talented bassoonist and flutist.

As a recipient of the prestigious Churchill Scholarship, he studied astrophysics for one year at Cambridge University. He then started his graduate program at Cornell University, working under E. Salpeter and R. Lovelace. Howard received his PhD degree in astrophysics in 1982 with a thesis on accretion flows in active galactic nuclei. It was at Cornell that Howard met Elizabeth (Liz) Sufit; they became partners in folk dancing, backpacking, and most importantly, in life.

Howard worked at Sandia National Laboratories from 1982 to 1984, in the Inertial Confinement Fusion program, then spent two years doing research and teaching at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He continued his research career at LLNL beginning in 1986. Initially, he worked on x-ray laser computer simulations for the Strategic Defense Initiative program, where he developed novel line transfer algorithms based on the method of complete linearization and implemented them in several simulation codes at LLNL.

While at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Howard developed an interest in numerical approaches to multiphysics problems and began working on a new computer code. His code CRETIN, originally aimed at modeling accretion disk spectra, was designed to efficiently combine atomic physics, radiation transport, and hydrodynamics. Today, CRETIN is used at institutions throughout the world to model x-ray emission spectra from laboratory plasmas and EUV sources for lithography.

He also developed DCA, a detailed non-equilibrium atomic model for complex atoms that could run inline in radiation–hydrodynamic simulations. DCA played a critical role in improving simulations of National Ignition Facility targets. He devised a linear response method for tabulating NLTE material properties, including opacities and equation-of-state data. The method enabled the use of high-fidelity atomic models, which would otherwise be impossible to run inline in inertial confinement fusion design calculations. He authored or coauthored more than 100 refereed articles and multiple book chapters. He lectured at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics and was a consultant to the IAEA. Howard was known for his “open door” policy, his generosity and kindness in collaboration and mentorship, his responsiveness and creativity in solving complex, urgent problems, and his generative and brilliant mind.

Howard and Liz married in 1983, during the years she pursued her DVM degree. They settled in Pleasanton, California, in 1986 and raised two children, Hannah (1992) and Samuel (1995). He was a deeply loving, endlessly patient, and fun-loving parent. They had an amazing circle of friends with whom they shared many adventures and social events. Vacations with extended family were always wonderful. Howard was well-known for his kindness, his quiet humor, his baking, and his innumerable graphic T-shirts. They were active members of Congregation Beth Emek, the Reform Judaism synagogue of the Tri-Valley.

Howard is survived by wife Liz, daughter Hannah, and son Samuel. Howard was predeceased by his older brother Bennett and is survived by Bennett’s wife Debbie Scott, his brothers Ronald Scott (Ina Loobeek) and Larry Scott; brothers- and sisters-in-law Robert Sufit (Diane Wood), Carl Sufit (Beth), Susan Sufit, and his much-loved nieces and nephews. He is greatly mourned by family and by his friends, his colleagues and scientific associates across the globe, his community at Congregation Beth Emek, and folk dancers in many areas of the US. His memory will be a blessing to us all.

Howard was interred at Gan Shalom, in Briones, California. Donations in Howard’s memory can be made to the Alameda County Food Bank fund, Planned Parenthood Foundation, the Nature Conservancy, or Congregation Beth Emek. Donations to the Livermore Lab Foundation would also be very appropriate: It supports scientific education, research and innovation at LLNL. Lastly, Howard donated blood a few times a year; however, he needed many units during his surgeries and procedures. In his honor, please donate blood if you are eligible.

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