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Arthur Epstein Obituary
Arthur Joseph Epstein, Ohio State University Distinguished Professor of Physics and Chemistry, died on August 25 in Columbus, Ohio at the age of 74. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Paulayne Sklarsky Epstein; his daughters, Melissa Epstein (Adam Jackson) of New York City, Dana Stein (Michael) of Baltimore, MD; his grandchildren, Samson Stein, Astrid Stein and Gabriel Joseph Jackson; his sister, Renee Goldman (Barry) of Mountain Lakes, NJ; his brother, Lewis Epstein of Scotch Plains, NJ; and numerous nieces and nephews. Predeceasing him were his parents Benjamin Epstein and Esther Fellner Epstein and his sister Susan Epstein Blumenfield. Professor Epstein co-discovered the first magnet based on organic materials in 1985 and was recognized as the world's leading expert in how polymers conduct electricity. During his twenty- eight year career at Ohio State, he advised 56 doctoral students to completion, advised 8 masters students and mentored 26 undergraduate students. He had more than 700 published articles and his work has been cited more than 30,000 times in scientific publications. He received 42 patents between 1989 and 2011. In addition to his research accomplishments, Professor Epstein was a principal organizer and 14-year Director of Ohio State's Center for Materials Research (CMR). Professor Epstein was an Ohio State University Distinguished University Professor, a Fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Sciences, a member of the American Physical Society and the American Chemical Society and was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Synthetic Metals. He helped found several companies based on his group's research including Eeonyx Corp and Traycer and served as a consultant for DuPont, Xerox, Honda, and Mitsubishi. Before his university career, Dr. Epstein spent 13 years in industry research as a Principal Scientist at the Xerox Corporation's Webster Research Center. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1962 and received a B.S. in Physics (cum laude) from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in 1966. He then received an M.S. in Physics in 1967 and a Ph.D. in Physics in 1971, both from the University of Pennsylvania. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to: Arthur J. Epstein Distinguished Emeritus Professor Graduate Endowed Travel Fund: Call 614.292.2141, The American Pardes Foundation: https://www.pardes.org.il/support/donate-now/
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Arthur Epstein
Sponsored by The Columbus Dispatch.
3 Entries
Kenneth Wynne
June 2, 2020
I was a scientific officer at the Office of Naval Research for many years. I funded work in conducting polymers first with Alan MacDiarmid and then collaborative research including Art. It was an exciting time for new chemistry and physics. Just before retiring and joining the College of Engineering at VCU, I was privileged to attend the Nobel Prize ceremony in 2000. Art and I watched the presentation to Alan, Alan Heeger and Hideki Shirakawa. I was deeply saddened when I recently learned of Art's passing. I would like to convey to the family my deepest sympathy.
Ken Wynne
John Whitcomb
September 8, 2019
Art was a classy fellow. We worked together beginning in 1993. His accomplishments in academia, business, and research are well known and documented. Moreover, at the top of his list were his family and his faith. When we talked, these two topics were covered well. The world has lost a good one! Best to family.
September 8, 2019
Such a horrible loss to the world! Without Art I likely never would have gone to Ohio State University and my whole adult life would have been different. I still remember the day that I first met him and talked with him about the work I had been doing with his original organic ferromagnet. I fondly remember the times he and Paulayne welcomed me into their home. My deepest sympathies to all of his family and especially Paulayne.
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