Joseph Eberly

It is with great sadness that I recently found out of Joe´s passing. There are some people in one´s life that are able to profoundly affect that life. Joe was definitely such a person. In the early 70ies, he successfully conspired with my advisor, prof. Bogdan Karczewski, in then communist Poland, to bring me to Rochester as a graduate student. Until my plane landed in London on the way to Rochester, I was still not sure if it was going to happen. It did. I became probably one of the first graduate students from Poland in the US. During my stay in Rochester, Joe has become a teacher, mentor and a friend to me and to my family in Poland. When my personal circumstances led me to remain in the US and applying for the US citizenship, Joe wisely suggested change of emphasis in my work from purely theoretical to the one that involved computer modeling of propagation of optical pulses and their interactions with the media. Some might even remember that out of that work came a new term "simulton" - simulataneous different wavelength optical solitons. That new emphasis set me on a productive career in directed energy systems in the government and defense industry settings. In the years that came, I enjoyed periodic visits to UofR and lunches in the faculty club with Joe. After retirement, we decided to move back to Rochester, where my American adventure had begun, to be closer to our children that are all east of the Rockies. Having settled in, I was hoping to resume old contact. At the end of March, I reached out to Joe by email but it was unanswered. Now I understand why.

I will always be profoundly grateful to Joe for being a part of my life. My family, myself, and the physics/optics community will miss him very much.

We are extending our deepest sympathy to Shirley and the entire Eberly family

Joe Eberly was a friend, mentor, fraternity brother and life long person that I often communicated with as he graduated in 1957 and I was in 1958. He was my room mate for one semester and captain of our tennis team. He was the first Penn stater to receive a Rhodes Scholarship interview with his 160+ IQ. I will miss him after nearly 70 years of friendship. Rich Jacobs PSU '58 and Lehigh '60 and now living in Burnsville, Minnesota.

I was deeply saddened to hear of Joe´s passing on April 30, 2025. He was not only a renowned figure in the quantum optics community but also a wonderful mentor and friend to me. His guidance had a profound impact on both my career and personal life.

I first met Joe at the Royal Society Discussion Meeting-Highlights in Quantum Optics in London in January 1997, an encounter that truly changed my life. Joe was a true pioneer, and I am certain his legacy will continue to inspire all who had the privilege of working with him.

So sad to learn about your dad´s passing. Sending you and your family hugs and strength during this difficult time.
Love,
Andy Thomas

Ginny, very sorry to hear about your dad. Please accept and extend my deepest sympathy to your family and you.

Fondly, Em Helfman BHS'83

My last email to Joe Eberly he never answered. Let make it public and to last forever: To: [email protected] Cc: Matt Kalinski Mon, Oct 21, 2024 at 5:22 PM Hi, I just recalled that you birthday is October 19 so 3 days late Happy Birthday !!! I am sure that you noticed that 2023 Nobel Prize went to among others to Anne L'Huillier you once sent my office inmate Demetris Lappas to to be the postdoc there ( I found him now on the net as some British bank director). What is even more interesting that Ken Schafer who hired me just after PhD in Louisiana is mentioned directly by the Nobel committee at there web site and he posted his photo with Mette Gaarde from Denmark who they hired as the Professor there at the Noble Prize banquet https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2023/advanced-information/ Very close to you again even if in experiments only for ultrashort pulses. I think you should get one too for overall especially for what I call (anti)- Haunebu effect (thy are hypothetical German Reich flying dishes which used anti-gravity) effect - the mass growth on dressing by field, revivals in JC model and Trojan Wave Packets if Iwo Bialynicki got Wigner Medal for Trojan Wavepackets as well. Maybe you know all this things and I probably mentioned the Nobel 2023 in similar mail in 2023 but you never said hi back in 2023 but I am sometimes not noticing e-mails or notice late when they are surrounded by adds spam in Mega Bites so I understand. This year Nobel in contrast went for research related to artificial intelligence which allows for example effects in the movies called face swapping i.e. computer replacement of face of the actor by the face of someone else so perfectly that no one can tell so completely out of Optics. Happy Birthday again. Matt (your PhD 1997)

Prof. Eberly,

I am honored to have been your last graduate student. I enjoyed every single day of the seven years I spent at Rochester under your guidance.

This past year has flown by since my graduation-it feels as if my graduation ceremony was just yesterday-if feels as if we are still having our conversations about physics, coffee, and philosophy in your office.

Despite the large age difference between us, you never made me feel it. You were not only my PhD supervisor but also a kind and generous friend, someone with whom I could share my thoughts and experiences with no hesitation.

I have planned to visit Rochester this June for the conference-are we going to have one more coffee together?

Truly sad news that my PhD supervisor JHE passed away. I hoped that he would live at least 100 years and he would be still working all along. He was one of a very few people on the world who immediately understood me in Physics Theory without any problems. He clearly deserved the Nobel Prize in Theoretical Physics which now he will not be able to receive.

Truly said news that my PhD supervisor JHE passed away. I hoped he would live at least 100 years and he would be still working all along. He was one of a very few people on the world who immediately understood me in Physics Theory without any problems. He clearly deserved the Nobel Prize in Theoretical Physics which now he will not be able to receive.

Hey Joe. I didn't know you long, but you made an impression. From that first debate over the pedagogy of quantum mechanics, it was always a pleasure to find you hanging out in the department lounge to chit chat. I was impressed by your sizable Polish vocabulary, and enjoyed listening to tales about your times in Eastern Europe. The quiet left in the absence of your voice is heard by all of us in the department.
Dobrze bilo cie pozna´c.

Truly said news my PhD supervisor JHE passed away. I hoped he would live at least 100 years and he would be still working all along. He was very few people on the world who immediately understood me in Physics Theory without any problems. He clearly deserved the Nobel Prize in Theoretical Physics which now he will not be able to receive.

Joe often came by the Physics-Optics-Astronomy Library at the UR--whether to find a student, to suggest or borrow a book, or to ask me a challenging and certain-to-be interesting research question. He was a staunch supporter of the POA and of libraries in general, and I will miss seeing him around campus (he always greeted me warmly and treated me as a colleague). Farewell, Joe.

It was with great sorrow that I learned of Joe's passing. I deeply treasure the time I spent with him. His wisdom and teaching were truly influential. I looked up to him and have tried to pass on some of what I learned from him to my students. My sincere condolences to his family. Rest in peace, Joe. -- Q. Charles Su (Illinois State U)