Kennedy J. Reed

Kennedy J. Reed, a leading theoretical atomic physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), passed away on 20 June 2023. He was past president of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) and cofounder of the National Physical Science Consortium—now called the Graduate Fellowships for STEM Diversity —an organization that provides fellowships for women and people in underrepresented groups.

Reed was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1944 to Earl and Lula (née McClain) Reed. He grew up in the Ida B. Wells public housing of South Side Chicago. He developed an early interest in the sciences during explorations of the lakefront geology of Lake Michigan and visits to the Field Museum, Museum of Science & Industry, and the Adler Planetarium. He attended James R. Doolittle Jr Grammar School and graduated from (then) Tilden Technical High School. Reed earned his BS in physics from Monmouth College in 1967, an MST in physics from the University of Wisconsin-Superior in 1971, and a PhD in theoretical atomic physics from the University of Nebraska in 1978. He taught physics at Morehouse College in Atlanta from 1976 to 1979 before joining LLNL in 1980.

An expert in the application of computational relativistic atomic physics to collisional excitation and ionization phenomena in high-temperature plasmas, Reed played an important role in the renaissance of atomic physics at Livermore and its application to x-ray lasers and inertial fusion. Reed authored more than 100 papers, working on the computation of key atomic/plasma dynamical rates and, with the LLNL Electron Beam Ion Trap group and other x-ray spectroscopists, the interpretation of experiments aimed at elucidating complex atomic physics mechanisms.

In parallel with his work in atomic physics, Reed was deeply committed to improving the participation of women and people in underrepresented groups in the physical sciences. He helped more than 100 students earn their doctorates, often acting as a personal mentor. He was cofounder of the National Physical Sciences Consortium, which has awarded more than 600 graduate fellowships. He was a charter fellow of the National Society for Black Physicists and its president from 1990 to 1992. Reed was also director of the LLNL Research Collaborations Program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities & Minority Institutions and associate director for Education and Outreach for NSF’s Center for Biophotonics, Science, and Technology at the University of California, Davis. He was very generous with his time and a dedicated mentor to scientists entering the LLNL workforce, including African Americans, women, and any person he could help to guide and support their career success.

Reed was also very interested in promoting physics research and education in Africa, helping seed collaborative projects between African and African American scientists. He was a visiting scientist at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Senegal and the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. He lectured at numerous other African universities and organized many international conferences in Africa. Through his role in IUPAP, he was a strong advocate for building a synchrotron light source in Africa. Additionally, he organized US visits for African physicists to universities and to NSF and other US government agencies that support scientific research.

Reed was president of IUPAP from 2017 to 2019. He also served on the National Academy of Sciences Board on International Scientific Organizations.

The Kennedy Reed Award for best theoretical research by a graduate student was established by the Far West section of the American Physical Society (APS) to honor Reed and his work. In 2003 Reed received the APS John Wheatley Award for multifaceted contributions to the promotion of physics research and education in Africa. He became an APS fellow in 1999. In 2011 Reed was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

In 2010 Reed received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring from President Obama in a White House ceremony.

Kennedy Reed had an extraordinary impact on the growth and applications of atomic collision physics in plasmas and on building the participation of women and people in underrepresented groups in the physical sciences. He achieved all that through his personal mentorship and the creation of effective fellowship programs. In addition, he played a strong role in the promotion of physics in Africa. He will be greatly missed.

Reed is predeceased by his parents Earl and Lula (née McClain) Reed and his older brother Oye Ajanakou. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Jane (née Hensleigh), children Lewis and Lydia, son-in law Joshua Stewart, his younger siblings Juan, Garland, Margaret Davis, and Lynn and, as one of his mentees described, “lots of physics grandkids.”

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