In Memoriam
Harold (“Hal”) Warren Lewis
(October 1, 1923 – May 26, 2011)
Before his dramatic resignation from the American Physical Society on October 6, 2010 over the society position on global warming (the text of his letter is available here and the APS reply and WUWT discussion is available here), Dr. Harold Lewis would not have been described as one of the rock stars of science. Few people outside of the worlds of physics and government had ever heard of him, yet his was a career of quiet but substantive accomplishment. His biographical blurb on the website of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, which he joined in October of 2010, is a good summary of his career:
Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, former Chairman; Former member Defense Science Board, chairman of Technology panel; Chairman DSB study on Nuclear Winter; Former member Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Former member, President’s Nuclear Safety Oversight Committee; Chairman APS study on Nuclear Reactor Safety Chairman Risk Assessment Review Group; Co-founder and former Chairman of JASON; Former member USAF Scientific Advisory Board; Served in US Navy in WW II; books: Technological Risk (about, surprise, technological risk) and Why Flip a Coin (about decision making)
Though not a household name, Dr. Lewis, one of the last of the great Robert Oppenheimer’s students and with whom he co-authored several papers, was considered one of the best physicists of his time and was well regarded in the physics community. He was a founding member of the JASON Defense Advisory Group and its chairman from 1966 to 1973, an association that did create controversy during the Vietnam conflict.
JASON took up a great deal of his time and effort and is discussed extensively in the transcript of an oral history interview he gave in 1986 for the Center for History of Physics of the American Institute of Physics. Among other things, the transcript makes clear his position that the role of Scientific Advisory Groups was to advise on things that scientists thought government should pay attention to, rather than advising in the things that government was actually paying attention to. It also documents an ongoing struggle to maintain autonomy from government agencies, with the JASON group engaging in projects of their own choosing, doing basic research while at the same time providing solutions to important needs.
He made a point of the fact that JASON provided a good return on a fairly small government investment. It certainly provides context for his assertions that floods of government money have corrupted science and the APS in particular.
On behalf of all our readers, contributors and authors, our condolences go out to his wife, Mary, and their family.
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http://www.aip.org/history/ohilist/4742.html
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Note from Anthony: Regular WUWT reader (and now contributor) Robert Phelan compiled this obituary, and it was he who alerted me to the news. From what I know of him, Hal Lewis was a quiet man, not only in life, but also in death. Robert Phelan writes in his email to me about how little information there is, which is why it has taken so long for it to be reported here:
It’s an odd thing, but I could find no obituary for him anywhere, not in his home town papers, not in the Los Angeles or San Francisco papers… just a small mention on the UCSB Campus Notes Page here: http://www.ia.ucsb.edu/93106/2011/June/notes.html , a small mention in the UCSB Retirees / Emeriti News Letter, and the addition of his death date in his Wikipedia entry.
Given how private and quiet Dr. Lewis was, it underscores how extraordinary his resignation from APS was. I thank him for his courage to do what must have been the most painful professional act of his life.
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I honestly hope and pray that some scientists take a leaf from his book – and learn a degree or two of humility coupled with a large swig of honesty. It takes real guts to stand aginst the crowd – especially in this current world of psuedo-science or post normal modern science – call it what you will.
RIP Hal Lewis
as we say in our neck of the woods – Top Bloke!
R.I.P., Dr. Lewis. Thank-you for your courageous witness to the truth. It must have been a life-long habit, drawn from the very best tradition of science.
It is often the quiet ones who are the great achievers. They don’t shout. They simply don’t need to. Their deeds and intelligence – their acumen and wisdom, cry to the world, “I am unique – I am special”! Such an individual was Hal Lewis. Yes Kev., you are correct. Honesty and humility, almost silently proclaim, yet in thunderous tones, a true science and wisdom, and a brave heart.
Hal Lewis we salute you!
RIP Hal Lewis. A great man who will be missed by many. Please offer my condolences to his family and friends.
“I was proud of what we did in a charged atmosphere. In the end the oversight committee, in its report to the APS President, noted the complete independence in which we did the job, and predicted that the report would be attacked from both sides. What greater tribute could there be?
How different it is now. The giants no longer walk the earth, and the money flood has become the raison d’être of much physics research”
Thank you Dr Lewis
For the h/t record, from Tip & Notes:
Derek Sorensen says:
June 21, 2011 at 4:40 am
Might be of interest to WUWT readers that Hal Lewis died on 26th May this year. Hal famously resigned from the APS in October last year, citing corruption and AGW bias among his reasons for doing so.
http://www.ia.ucsb.edu/93106/2011/June/notes.html
Scroll to “In memoriam” at foot of page.
REPLY: Yeah, I missed that. Look at the time, 4:40AM PST. Somebody else approved it. Thanks to Derek. – Anthony
My condolences maybe in his memory we have here what I consider to be a series of videos that will probably unite the AGW and skeptics amazing but true if you care to watch
[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdebz_p4tm4&feature=related ]
Dr Lewis’ letter of resignation was extraordinary – I will always remember it
“If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Sir Isaac Newton
Ditto to all responses here.RIP Hal Lewis.
A great man who through honesty, gained respect and will be recognized in history as such.
My condolences go to his family and friends.
“When a true genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign; that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.” — Jonathan Swift, author, 1726
I hope he rests in peace knowing that he made his position clear. Sleep in peace John Daly et al.
Climate is sooooo patient; ‘weather’ you are right or wrong.
I am sorry . . . how did he die? If anyone knows . . .
Hal Lewis’ book, Technological Risk, is a must-read. It explores the middle ground between the Luddite ain’t-it-awful approach and the Pollyanna whitewash approach. If you’re looking for conversation-stopping zingers, this may not be the best book for you. But if you want to know how rational people come to grips with technological risks in the real world, you’ll learn a thing or two.
…. quietly into the night…
A fine physicist and a person of the highest integrity, who demanded the same from others claiming the mantle of science. I was honored to know him.
Thank you Dr. Lewis, for your contributions to science, physics, and to the advancement of society.
And thank you for inspiring the fight. We promise not to disappoint. Grrrr.
Requiem æternam. Et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Chris
Norfolk, VA, USA
What a Gent, definately amongst the unsung heroes.
Sad news indeed. R.I.P. an honest man.
My condolences to his family.
His letter to the APS set him apart from the crowd of yes-men who dutifully maintain the status quo instead of question it. He seemed to be a man who tirelessly attempted to advance the future of science. The fact that he was one of Oppenheimers students is simply amazing.
” The men who deserve the most attention are those who do not demand it.”
He was a very humble and brilliant man, and will be missed.
Dr Lewis stood up and showed the courage of his convictions. He spoke out when others dared not. Thje world has lost a brave, intelligent and noble man. My sympathies to the grieving family and friends.
Shall we say the same of Mann, Jones and Trenberth? Will they be seeing further because they stood on the shoulders of giants? Hardly.
You will all be thrilled as I was that today Julia Gillard announced her fabulous Carbon Tax, a tax she vowed not to introduce prior to the last election. If she had told the truth then she would not be in power and this abomination would be a bad dream of the left. But from deception comes justice. At the next election not only will Julia be ancient history but so too will be the Greens who have been responsible for so much of our woes.
More men like Hal Lewis must stand forth and tell the West that the current science about AGW is not infallible and that we are barking up the wrong tree. There are heroes and scoundrels. The heroes are sidelined and the scoundrels are feted. How bad is that?
A quiet man who wasn’t afraid to speak out when speechifiers kept silent and turned away.
Amat victoria curam
He was truly a man of integrity.
Rest in Peace sir.
Thank you Hal Lewis, my Hero.
There is good reason to echo the sentiments expressed here. The world has lost an outstanding scientist, a genuine scientist, one who was never a willing to sell his principles. Sadly the world has insufficient numbers of such people.