Emil Wolf Ph.D., D.Sc.

Emil Wolf, Ph.D., D.Sc., The Wilson Professor of Optical Physics at the University of Rochester

Pittsford - Died peacefully at home on Saturday, June 2, 2018 at the age 95.

A man of immense energy, Emil overcame many obstacles in his life and established a scientific career in which he made important contributions to our understanding of light and matter. A world famous physicist who co-wrote, along with Nobel Laureate Max Born, the famous book "Principles of Optics", Emil was a faculty member for over 50 years in the Physics Department at the University of Rochester, teaching thousands of graduate students and supervising many Ph.D. students. He published over 400 papers in various physics journals, wrote or co-wrote four books, edited a prominent book series on Optics, and received many awards and honorary degrees, including the Albert A. Michelson Medal of the Franklin Institute, the Max Born Award of the Optical Society of America, the Gold Medal of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and the University of Rochester Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching.

Born in 1922 in Prague, Czechoslovakia to Josef and Pavla Wolf, Emil escaped his country in 1939 just as the Nazi army was invading. He made his way to France and then to England and attended a Czech school for expatriates. He obtained his B.Sc. in Mathematics and Physics in 1945 and his Ph.D. in Physics in 1948, both from Bristol University, England. He received his D.Sc. in 1955 from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He worked in Edinburgh with Max Born, writing "Principles of Optics", now known simply as "Born and Wolf". In 1959, Emil took a position at the University of Rochester and periodically organized, along with Dr. Leonard Mandel and Dr. Joseph Eberly, a conference on Coherence and Quantum Optics that helped to establish the University of Rochester as one of the leading Optics centers in the country. Emil published books and scientific papers at an astonishing pace well into his 90s. His research on light and its interactions with matter has been immensely influential, and has energized decades of explosive scientific, technological, and industrial advances in optics.

An engaging and thoughtful man, Emil cared deeply for his family, his students, his colleagues, his community and anyone in need of help. During an amazing career in physics, he somehow managed to also raise two children by himself. His love of people and of life knew no bounds, and he will be greatly missed by all the people he touched in his life. He is predeceased by his brother, Charles Wolfe. He is survived by his beloved wife of 35 years, Marlies Wolf; his two children and their spouses, Bruno and Laura Wolf, and Paula Wolf and Madelaine Feindt; his step-children and their spouses, Michael Ruehle and Janice Tennant, Thomas Ruehle and Heike Giebler, and Anna-Lee and Steve Mills; his grandchildren, Katrina Bodenschatz, Cole and Remy Ruehle, Louisa Geibler and Allan Rogers-Ruehle, and Ryan and Lauren Mills; his three great-grandchildren, James and Jack McNeil, and Hailey Mills; and his nephew, Paul Wolfe and his spouse, Karen and their children Thomas and Michaela Wolfe.

Friends may call Wednesday, 4-7 PM at the funeral chapel (2305 Monroe Ave.). A Memorial Service will be held at the University of Rochester at a date to be announced. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Emil Wolf Graduate Fellowship Fund at the University of Rochester, to the care of UR Gift and Donor Services, PO Box 270032, Rochester, NY 14627. To share a memory of Emil or send a condolence to the family visit www.anthonychapels.com.