Julius Lukasiewicz

LUKASIEWICZ, Julius D.Sc. (Engineering) 1919 - 2018 Passed away peacefully in Ottawa on March 31, 2018. "Luke" or "Julek" was predeceased by his wife of 43 years Halina (nee Drymmer, 1921-1985) and his brother Janek; and is survived by his sons Peter of Toronto and Mark of New York; his longtime companion Ewa Zernicka of Warsaw; his daughters-in-law Kathy MacDonald and Lori Harris; sister-in-law Michele Lukasiewicz; and grandchildren Adam (and wife Amy), Emma (and partner Erich), Halle, Julia, and Ben; and nieces Christine Forbes of London, England and Nathalie DiPiazza of Paris, France and their families. Julek believed in "living life to the fullest" and did just that for every one of his 98 years, engaging with the world around him as a student, soldier, engineer, author, professor, photographer, husband, father and grandfather, and dear friend to many not only in Ottawa but all over the world. Born in Poland in 1919, just one year after its rebirth as a free and independent nation, he was the son of Maria and Juliusz Lukasiewicz, Poland's envoy to Austria (1931-33), ambassador to the Soviet Union (1933-36) and ambassador to France (1936 until the early months of World War II). Julek graduated in 1937 from Gimnazjum i Liceum im. Stefana Batorego (the Stefan Batory High School) in Warsaw. An early adopter of current trends, Julek took a "gap year" during the 1937/38 academic year and lived with his father at the Polish Embassy in Paris, where he met Halina for the first time, took courses at the Alliance Française and studied French history at the Sorbonne. He began to study engineering at the Warsaw Polytechnic Institute in the fall of 1938, having scored the highest grade on the entrance exam, but his education was interrupted by the war. Julek served in the Polish Forces in France and England, and then resumed his study of mechanical and aeronautical engineering at Imperial College in London. Married in wartime London in 1942, but unable to return to Communist-controlled Poland after the end of the war, he and Halina chose to immigrate to Canada in 1948, where he joined the National Research Council. One of Luke's signature achievements while at the NRC was co-designing the world's first Mach 4.5 trisonic wind tunnel. The wind tunnel continues to operate today, having completed over 50,000 tests since its inception. From 1958 to 1968, Luke was the Chief of the von Kármán Gas Dynamics Facility at the US Air Force Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tullahoma, Tennessee, where he supervised critical aerodynamic testing for the Mercury and Gemini manned space flights and the Apollo moon shot. In 1966 he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science (Engineering) by the University of London on the strength of his body of work in the field of fluid mechanics. In 1968, Luke was recruited to become the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies at the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia where he taught until 1971 when he moved back to Ottawa. From 1971 until his retirement in 1997, Luke was a professor at Carleton University in Ottawa where he taught mechanical and aerospace engineering and founded the groundbreaking interdisciplinary program "Technology, Society and Environment." A lifelong opponent of Soviet communism, Julek actively supported the "Solidarnosc" trade union movement in Poland in the early 1980s. He and Halina served as welcoming friends, supporters and advisers to countless Polish refugees and émigrés settling in Ottawa. With the triumph of Solidarnosc in 1989, he began traveling frequently to his homeland. Julek had many interests: he designed and built his beloved cottage on Johnston Lake (he often said that if he had not been an engineer he would have been an architect); he was an avid tennis player and skier; he loved to travel and visit friends around the world; but his "fascination, passion and joy" was photography. Julek started taking photographs in 1932 when he was 12 years old, recording more than 75,000 images in his lifetime, the vast majority with one of his many Leica cameras. He began exhibiting his photographs in 2007 at age 88 - it was never too late for Julek to embark on a new adventure. He was the author of countless articles and numerous books: "The Railway Game," "The Ignorance Explosion: Understanding Industrial Civilization," "Dziennik Zolnierza (A Soldier's Diary)," "Experimental Methods of Hypersonics," "Wystarczy Patrzec" ("It is Enough to Look" - his first book of photographs) and his autobiography "Rue Lukasiewicz: Glimpses of a Life." The family wishes to thank Julek's broad circle of friends for their many visits, as well as the tireless team of caregivers, all of whom made his final days engaging and comfortable. In lieu of flowers, the family would welcome donations to the Julius Lukasiewicz prize at his alma mater the Gimnazjum i Liceum im. Stefana Batorego. Julek's family and friends endowed the prize in 1994 to celebrate Julek's 75th birthday. The prize is awarded annually to the graduating student with the highest standing in mathematics and science. Donations may be made to the Julius Lukasiewicz Prize, Stefan Batory High School, c/o 2777 Dundas St. W., Toronto, ON M6P 1Y4. In accordance with Julek's wishes, there will be no funeral service. Rather, a Celebration of Julek's life will be held on Saturday April 14, 2018 in the O'Born Room of the National Arts Centre, Ottawa, at 1:00 p.m. As well, an "Uhonorowanie Julka Zycia" will be held on Saturday, June 2, 2018 in Warsaw, Poland. Condolences/Tributes www.hpmcgarry.ca 613-748-1200