Obituary of Gregory Haas (1935-2013)

Dr. Gregory M. Haas died on Sunday March 17, 2013 at the age of 77 while in hospice care in Baltimore. Greg had Parkinson’s disease for the last several years but had been functioning quite well. He took a dramatic turn for the worse, however, in late February with an artery and heart problem. His passing was quite sudden.

Greg had several positions in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). He joined the fusion office in 1976, working in the Open Systems (Mirror Division). In 1978 he became Chief of the (Fusion) Reactor Technologies Branch, where he had responsibilities for gyrotron development, fueling and vacuum technology, neutral beam sources and ion cyclotron resonant frequency (ICRF) sources for the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR), and materials research including needs for neutron interactive data. Greg worked closely with colleagues within the fusion office and in the overall fusion program, and was particularly effective in bringing participants together from national laboratories, universities and industry to help evaluate needs and set priorities. His earlier experience as a research scientist and professor helped him understand what it takes to perform R&D successfully beyond just providing money. He always had the respect of the scientists and engineers in his programs.

Greg left the fusion office in 1989 to work on the High Energy Physics Program’s Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) Project, under construction in Texas at the time. He was the first and only DOE representative in Texas for close to a year. When the SSC Project Office was formed in Texas in 1990, Greg held the position of Chief Scientist and remained with the project until it was cancelled in 1993. Greg’s responsibilities at the project office were to interact broadly with the technical divisions of the lab and provide the DOE Project Director with input on the progress of translating scientific parameters into engineering requirements. He was particularly involved personally and technically in the magnet “string test” which was an early test of the prototype main ring magnets. This was a rigorous mechanical and electrical test and demonstrated that the magnets and associated components could be cooled down to operating temperatures and meet certain performance requirements. Greg worked closely with the lab on all aspects of the test which was fully successful.

While the relationship between the lab and DOE was difficult, Greg earned the respect and confidence at the working level of the technical staff of the lab. Greg remained in Texas to help close out the site when the SSC Project was terminated and then returned to DOE in Washington. He continued to work in the DOE Office of Science until retiring in 1999.

Greg was born October 12, 1935 in Buffalo, NY and moved with his parents to San Benito, Texas as a youngster. He earned B.S. and M.S. degrees from Lamar University in Beaumont, TX in 1958. He went on to attain a Ph.D. from Louisiana State University in 1963 with a dissertation in particle physics. He began his technical career at Oak Ridge National laboratory before moving to Texas A&M University in 1966. He then became a Professor at the University of Houston in 1967. Greg moved to Washington in 1973 on a sabbatical at the Mitre Corp before joining the fusion office at DOE in 1976.

Greg was a man of varied interests. He built and sailed boats in his early years, and owned and rode many motorcycles. He was an excellent photographer and processed large prints in his darkroom. Many of his prints are of gallery quality. He prepared and printed a large family history book with text and prints going back several generations.

His wife of over 40 years, Tybe, died in 2002 after a long battle with cancer. He had two children from his marriage and five grandchildren. In 2003, Greg met Alice Harris, with whom he had a warm and loving partnership for ten years. Greg was a modern renaissance man, technically excellent and thorough, and a gentleman in all respects. His passing is much regretted by all who have been close to him.