Manfred A. Biondi

Manfred A. (“Fred”) Biondi passed away on September 28, 2016. He was born in Carlstadt, New Jersey on March 5, 1924. Fred’s long career in physics focused on experimental studies of the collision processes in weakly ionized gases, such as the recombination of ions with electrons, and collisions of ions with neutral atoms and molecules. In addition to laboratory studies he conducted extensive investigations of airglow emissions from the upper atmosphere.

Fred graduated from MIT with a BS in physics in 1944. After service in the Navy he returned to MIT to work in the experimental group of Sanborn Brown and received his PhD in 1949. Little was known about recombination in those days and the kinetics of plasma afterglows were still somewhat mysterious. Fred was fond of recalling his advisor’s well-meaning suggestion that he should start with a “simple” plasma afterglow in pure helium. Even today this seemingly simple system is only poorly understood. From 1949 until 1960 he worked at the Westinghouse Research Laboratories in Pittsburgh and in 1957 became manager of the Physics Department. He often recalled the numerous productive interactions with his Westinghouse colleagues, especially Art Phelps, Ted Holstein and George Schulz. They performed groundbreaking work on high vacuum techniques and recombination, attachment and diffusion in ionized gases.

He became a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1959.

He joined the University of Pittsburgh as a Professor of Physics in 1960 and set up the Atomic and Plasma Physics Lab. Later, the NASA- sponsored Space Research Coordination Center was established that brought together a group of prominent researchers in atomic, molecular, and atmospheric physics (Tom Donahue, Fred Kaufman, Ed Zipf, Wade Fite, Norman Bardsley, Ed Gerjuoy, and Fred). Fred’s “microwave afterglow” method provided an elegant way to determine the rates of dissociative electron recombination of ionospheric ions, e.g. N₂⁺, O₂⁺ and NO⁺. The dissociative mechanism was firmly established by his spectroscopic studies of the Doppler shifts of emissions from the separating fragment atoms. Mass-analyzed ion wall currents also were used to identify ions and to compare their temporal behavior with that of the electron density. He is still widely quoted as a pioneer in the field of dissociative recombination.

In a parallel effort, ion drift tube/ mass spectrometer techniques were developed for measurements of ionic mobilities and ion-molecule reactions of interest for models of terrestrial and planetary ionospheres.

His numerous contributions were recognized when he received the Davisson-Germer Prize in 1984 “in recognition of his remarkable ingenuity in the development of innovative experimental techniques for the study of electron-ion collision processes.” The pressure-scanned Fabry-Perot interferometers that he initially developed for lineshape studies of emission from recombination later became the principal tools for field observations of airglow emissions from the upper atmosphere. The goal was to derive the wind velocities and circulation patterns in the upper atmosphere from the Doppler shift of emission lines. These field observations were done both locally at Pitt’s Airglow Observatory and in faraway places such as Peru, Arecibo, the Marshall Islands and Fort Churchill.

Fred was an experimentalist of the old school who enjoyed hands-on work in the lab while passing on the tricks of the trade to his graduate students and post-docs. His approach was more intuitive than formal and he preferred experimental methods that yielded clear answers without complex data analysis.

In addition to his accomplishments in the scientific realm, Fred enjoyed hobbies such as flying airplanes (both real airplanes and radio-controlled models), golfing and skiing. During his early years he also played the violin, but nobody that we know ever heard him play.

One of Fred’s favorite activities was camping at the Deer Valley YMCA Family Camp where he and his family members had camped annually since the mid-1950s. One summer Fred brought an interferometer to Deer Valley to conduct airglow research in the relatively clear atmospheric conditions there.

Fred was quite competitive but his interactions were invariably calm and objective. He was ever mindful of the welfare of his graduate students. He and his wife, Elaine, treated them as part of their family and held frequent get-togethers and holiday gatherings. He could also be a passionate debater, as many attendees of the evening sessions of the Gaseous Electronics Conference (GEC) may recall.

A brief obituary cannot do justice to a long and productive life and many of Fred’s friends, students and co-workers have remained unmentioned. He has contributed much to the lives of those who had the fortune of working with him. He will be missed by all of us.

Some interesting details of Fred’s career and opinions can be found in a 2008 APS interview (https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/33740 ).

Submitted by Rainer Johnsen and Charles S. Weller. The authors thank several of M.A. Biondi’s former students for sharing recollections.