MITCHELL FEIGENBAUM Obituary

FEIGENBAUM--Mitchell J. The Rockefeller University community mourns the loss of our friend and colleague Mitchell J. Feigenbaum, a mathematical physicist whose groundbreaking work on deterministic chaos influenced fields ranging from cardiology to cartography. Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Feigenbaum was the first to discover that many different physical systems follow a common "periodic doubling" path to chaos, paving the way for the emergence of the discipline known today as chaos theory. He also first studied a simple iterated algebraic equation known as the logistic map, and was later able to demonstrate that these steps are universal: All physical systems that become chaotic via this period-doubling route to chaos exhibit the same behavior. Additionally, Dr. Feigenbaum found that this behavior is determined by two universal constants, now known as the Feigenbaum constants. For work on fluid dynamics with Albert J. Libchaber, a Rockefeller colleague, he was awarded the prestigious Wolf Prize in Physics in 1986. Dr. Feigenbaum joined Rockefeller as Toyota Professor in 1987. In the mid-1990s, Dr. Feigenbaum was instrumental in establishing Rockefeller's Center for Studies in Physics and Biology. We extend our deepest condolences to Dr. Feigenbaum's sons Kiril and Sasha Dobrovolsky; his brother, Edward Feigenbaum; and his sister, Glenda Jeunelot. Richard P. Lifton, President; William E. Ford, Chairman; Russell L. Carson, Chairman Emeritus; Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Paul Nurse, and Torsten N. Wiesel, Presidents Emeriti.

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Published by New York Times on Jul. 14, 2019.

Memories and Condolences
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Folkert Tangerman

July 14, 2019

I am glad to have known Mitchell for a long time. I am very grateful that he invited Peter Veerman to Rockefeller many times. We had the most interesting mathematical physics seminars. Of course, I am still thankful that he once knighted me as an honorary physicist. His insights made this world a more interesting place.

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