Manuel Gaspar
Menendez
1935-1991
If anybody could bring life to the study of atomic physics, Manny Menendez could. More than enthusiasm, it was the late scientist’s love for his favorite subject -- atomic structures and how atoms interact -- that he shared with student and fellow professors alike. His infectious zeal influenced every aspect of his research and teaching.
Manny exhibited the true mark of a scientist -- an openness to new ideas and different opinions. He was elected a Fellow in the American Physical Society, an honor reserved for the top 1/2 percent of the members. His seminal contributions to the understanding of electron-atom scattering in the forward direction were recognized recently at the International Seminar on Ion-Atom Collisions in Australia, where a paper was dedicated to him.
A personable and highly interactive scientist, Manny was also an excellent speaker and a sought-after lecturer. With a remarkable and all-too-rare ability to explain complicated concepts of physics research, he communicated complex concepts easily to those outside the field. During the few years preceding his death, he gave invited sets of expository lectures in France, Germany and Hungary, and was a guest at institutes in those countries. At the University of Chicago’s Fermi Institute, Manny was a guest scientist with Professor Ugo Fano, one of the world’s premier theorists in atomic physics.
As department head for six years, Manny exerted a significant impact on the development of the department of physics and astronomy. Colleagues remember him as an administrator and an enthusiastic teacher who treated others with respect, whether undergraduate students, colleagues or deans.
Hardworking, he was an extrovert with a cheerful disposition and a passion for the things he loved -- from physics to Mozart. For his enthusiasm, his sense of perspective, his ability to communicate, but mostly for his passion for life, Manny will be remembered -- and missed.