Obituary of Michael Stephen Feld

Michael S. Feld, MIT Professor of Physics and Director of the MIT George R. Harrison Spectroscopy Laboratory, died Saturday April 10, 2010 after an eight-year struggle with multiple myeloma. He is survived by his wife Alison Hearn, his daughter Alexandra Feld, and his two sons Jonathan and David Feld.

Michael Feld became director of the Spectroscopy Laboratory in 1976. For over thirty years his leadership shaped the mission of the laboratory and took it in new directions, most recently, medical applications of spectroscopy. In his early career he made fundamental contributions to the development of laser science. For the past twenty years he has pioneered applying physics to biomedical problems. His doctoral students and post-doctoral research associates have become leaders in physics research and biomedical science.

He first came to MIT in 1958 as an undergraduate. He went on to do his PhD at MIT under the supervision of Prof. Ali Javan, and in 1968 he became a member of the MIT faculty. During his 52 years at MIT he was an active contributor to the MIT community; he was particularly proud of his work helping to develop a welcoming ambience for minority students, staff, and faculty.