JACK COLWELL

COLWELL Jack H. Colwell Died on Tuesday, February 13, 2019, in his 87th year, at home and surrounded by his family. Jack is survived by his beloved wife of 61 years, Rita Rossi Colwell; by his daughters, Alison and Stacie Colwell; sons-in-law, Bruce Ponman and Rick Canning; grandchildren, Jack, Adelaide, and Fintan Canning; and many Rossi and Colwell relatives. A late-in-life baby of his family and the last of his family's generation, Jack was predeceased by his parents, William and Eleanor Colwell, and siblings, William, Eleanor, Marion, and Charles, and their respective spouses. Jack was born on December 29, 1931, in Wooster, Ohio, and after a remarkable sojourn 1939-1940 in Yokohama, Japan, where his father was part of a team installing a steel plant that had been bought from United Engineering in Wooster, Ohio, he spent the rest of his childhood in Youngstown, Ohio. A formative experience was caddying on the famous Mill Creek Golf Course, where he developed a passion for the game of golf. He attended Mount Union College, distinguishing himself as Ohio Conference Golf Champion, and graduated in 1953. He served in the US Army, training in Field Wire and Communications at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was then stationed in Amberg, Germany, where he explored the countryside in the Battalion mail truck and played for the US Army Golf Team. Upon discharge, he entered a Masters' program in physical chemistry at Purdue University, studying trimethylamines. It was at Purdue where he met and married Rita in 1956. After graduation the newlyweds travelled in their TR3 Roadster to the University of Washington, Seattle, where they earned their PhDs in 1961. Jack studied the physical properties of sulfur trioxide, working in the Chemistry . Department with Professor George HalseyJack's doctoral research attracted the attention of Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling, who had also published on the peculiarities of sulfur trioxide and with whom Jack shared his research findings. Jack was awarded a National Research Council of Canada Post Doctoral Fellowship and moved to Ottawa, Canada, where he began research in low-temperature physics, specifically the properties of methane at zero degrees Kelvin, with Dr. James Morrison. In 1963, the Colwells moved to Washington, DC, where Jack joined the National Bureau of Standards at its Connecticut Avenue site now the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland where he continued his work in low-temperature physics, primarily low-temperature thermometry and the properties of materials at zero degrees Kelvin. During his 26 years at NBS and NIST, Jack carried out research on superconductivity in semiconductors and on properties of magnetic compounds at very low temperatures, as well as contributing to the extension of the international temperature scale to temperatures near absolute zero. Jack retired from "The Bureau" in 1989, devoting himself full time to participating in and organizing dinghy racing at Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, Maryland. Jack was a champion sailor and served as Commodore of SSA in 1977-1978. Sailing with his wife and daughters was his favorite pastime, as was paddling the Potomac, a member of the Sycamore Island Canoe Club since the early 1960s, and bicycling he C&O Canal towpath. Jack was a polymath who solved complicated equations effortlessly, earning the nickname "Numbers" as a graduate student. He delighted in logic puzzles, from ken ken to sailing strategies; and he took an interest in and read widely and deeply on many complicated subjects. The world never ceased to interest him. He explored a remarkable portion of the globe, traveling to scientific meetings with his wife, and logged tens of thousands of miles on his bicycle and, more recently, on his recumbent tricycle. He was a kind man who knew what he knew and loved what he loved. He cherished solitude, yet he loved his family, embraced his supporting role in Rita's career, and enjoyed time with his wide circle of friends. Jack remained wry, even tart, right up to the end and soldiered through the last difficult months with characteristic fortitude and dignity... Our sadness in losing him will continue but will include warm recollections of his quirks and qualities. A memorial service is planned for May, 2018. Donations in his name can be made to the environmental or liberal non-profit of your choice. A memorial service is planned for May, 2018. Donations in his name can be made to the environmental or liberal non-profit of your choice.