Obituary of Albert Erwin, Jr. (1931-2011)

Albert Rich Erwin, Jr., Professor of Physics emeritus at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, passed away on 5 April 2011 in Madison, Wisconsin.

Albert was born on 1 May 1931, the son of Albert Rich Erwin, Sr. and Lois (Lee) Erwin in Charlotte, North Carolina. He graduated from Concord High School in 1949 and Duke University, Summa Cum Laude, in 1953 with a B.S. in Physics. He earned a doctorate from Harvard in 1959, his thesis titled ‘Sigma(+)-K(+) Production in 990 MeV pi(+)-p Collisions’. Albert joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin in 1959 and became a full professor in 1965. Although he retired in 2005, he continued to work on high-energy physics experiments until his illness.

An experimental high-energy particle physicist and an expert in electronic detection systems, Albert carried out a number of experiments at Argonne, Brookhaven, and Fermi national laboratories over the 50-year span of his career. One of the first users of computers in high-energy physics, he started with Univac and then used a series of other systems. Early experiments used the bubble chamber technique, in which photographs of particle reactions were analyzed by film scanning and measuring machines, which he built at Wisconsin. His most famous result in this early period was the co-discovery, with William (Bill) Walker, of the rho-meson in 1961.

Albert’s research at Fermilab moved into electronic detection methods, by which he was able to collect and analyze higher event rates than possible with bubble chambers. Albert worked on early notable jet experiments E395 and E609 at Fermilab with collaborators from ANL, FNAL, Lehigh, UPenn, and Rice. At that time, the existence of hadron jets (and their relation to the underlying scattering in which quarks were knocked out of the proton) was far from universally accepted. These were the first experiments to use calorimeters to trigger on and observe jet production in hadron collisions. The idea of quarks fragmenting into jets of hadrons was new. Albert and his collaborators invented techniques to reconstruct the jets, which foreshadowed the cone-type algorithms commonly used by collider experiments nowadays.

When the Fermilab collider came on-line in 1987, Albert, with collaborators from Duke, FNAL, Iowa State, and Purdue, mounted a search for the formation of a new state of matter, a Quark-Gluon Plasma, in the highest energy (1.8 TeV) hadron collisions available. Experiment E735 was one of the first to run at this new accelerator. Initially, the idea of a QGP was met with some ambivalence, as the experimental signatures were not well defined. After some years of theoretical and experimental progress, it became more widely accepted, mostly among the heavy ion community.

In these pioneering experiments, that were ahead of their time, Albert and his colleagues probed at the frontier of Strong Interaction Physics. He built much of the critical experimental apparatus used in this research. In later years, Albert made his own unique contributions to experiments E-771, KTeV, and most recently MINOS.

In addition to being an exceptional experimental physicist, Albert was an extremely effective teacher who conveyed effortlessly his knowledge and understanding of physics. He taught all levels of physics, from undergraduate introductory physics to the most advanced graduate courses.

Albert trained 13 PhD students, many of whom have had active research careers themselves. Many remember him as more than just their mentor; he was a major influence in their lives. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a member of its Division of Particles and Fields, and a member of the Fermilab and Brookhaven Lab Users’ Organizations. Albert was also a member of Stokes Masonic Lodge, Concord, North Carolina.

Albert truly enjoyed physics and his work, which occupied nearly all his time. Nevertheless, he appreciated good recreational diversions. He was a Ham radio operator most of his life and an avid runner. He also organized extracurricular activities for his research group and friends - canoeing, hiking, and bicycling. In his later years, Albert and his wife, Denise, enjoyed flying in her airplane. Albert had a good sense of humor, but preferred that which could be found in real-life to anything scripted.

Albert was a man of honesty, integrity, and humility. He was unassuming - avoiding the spotlight - and always followed his curiosity and instincts. He was a credit to his profession, the University of Wisconsin, and, above all, he was true to himself. His grace, knowledge, and insight will be missed greatly.