Dr. Edmond M. Dewan

DEWAN, Dr. Edmond M. A Lexington resident for many years, died on July 15, 2009 in Burlington, Mass. Dr. Dewan, a graduate of Duke and Yale Universities, was a renowned physicist who worked for 52 years at Hanscom Field Air Force Base in Bedford. He authored many significant and innovative research papers on diverse fields, including relativity, REM sleep, Kugelblitz (ball lightning), atmospheric turbulence, mezospheric bores, and the effect of the lunar cycle on human fertility. In 1964 he demonstrated the first instance of a human being directly controlling an external machine using only brainwaves. He received the Gunther Loesser award in 2001 at Hanscom Field and the Harold Brown award at the Pentagon in 2003.Dr. Dewan was also an inventor and an enthusiastic explorer of a wide range of subjects, often involving the interplay between music, nature and science. He is survived by his two sons Ted and Brian Dewan, his granddaughter Pandora Dewan, his sister Denise Morchand-Erwin and her husband Albert Erwin, and his cousins Leon and Darene Dewan. A tribute to Dr. Dewan was held on July 23 at the Air Force Research Laboratory Library celebrating the breadth of his knowledge, intellectual curiosity and notable scientific achievements. There will also be a memorial service in late October.