remembered family friend,-adolf lohmann, holography pioneer

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neebee

Social climber
calif/texas
Topic Author's Original Post - Jan 26, 2014 - 12:10am PT
hey there say, ... i just learned that just before christmas, an old friend of my daddy's passed on... adolph lohmann...

we just knew him as a nice man and our friend... and we grew up with his kids, when they used to live near los gatos, and then, san jose area, and then they moved much later, to la jolla, and then back to germany...

he kept in touch with our family, when he could...
his wife had already died... and i never heard from the girls,
after they grew up, as, they were in germany...

adolf lohmann...

many times we do NOT know he names behind many things invented and such...

well, here is a bit of his story:
many of you all know more about science and such, and might
appreciat the share...

http://www.optics.arizona.edu/news-events/news/quicknews/memoriam-adolf-w-lohmann

In memoriam: Adolf Lohmann, holography and information processing pioneer
18 December 2013

Adolf LohmannAdolf Lohmann, distinguished optical scientist, SPIE Fellow, and recipient of the SPIE A.E. Conrady Award, passed away on 15 December 2013, at the age of 87.

Lohmann was renowned for his pioneering, seminal contributions to the field of optical information processing and holography, specifically computer-generated holograms.

His many written contributions, as well as his several invited lectures, have a clear enjoyable style, which carry implicitly the message that good research in optics is fun.

Lohmann inspired, mentored and advised many distinguished scholars worldwide. He and his collaborators attracted many young scientists and well-seasoned researchers; first to the University of California, San Diego and later to the University of Erlangen. These groups were in many ways outstanding international centers for doing research in an enjoyable and friendly environment.

In his research and teaching, he had a unique way of connecting different aspects of science. In particular, he introduced several concepts of information science into optics, thus inspiring many new ideas in research topics such as speckle interferometry, 3D wavefields, self-imaging, partially coherent optical processors, digital optical computing, fractional transformations, super resolution, and many others.

He received the 2008 SPIE A.E. Conrady Award in recognition of his invention of the computer-generated hologram, which revolutionized the world of optical testing and design. The Conrady Award is presented to recognize exceptional contributions in design, construction, and testing of optical systems and instrumentation.

Among other honors, he also received the IBM Invention Award (1964), IBM Outstanding Invention Award, (1967), Federal Medal of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz, Germany, 1981), the Max Born Award (1984), C.E.K. Mees Medal (1987) and the Emmett N. Leith Medal (2008) from the Optical Society of America.

He was the author or coauthor of approximately 350 technical articles and held numerous patents. In 2002 he was honored with a tribute conference and SPIE Press volume, Optical Information Processing: A Tribute to Adolf Lohmann.

Despite his academic achievements and recognitions, Prof. Lohmann had a remarkably humble attitude, an amicable personality and a great sense of generosity.

It is a great loss to the international optical community. His many former students, co-authors and friends around the world, will sorely miss him. He is survived by his daughters Sabine, Johanna, Luise, and Eva; and by his grandchildren Franka and Max.

Obituary courtesy of Jorge Ojeda-Castaneda, Karl Heinz Brenner, and Bernhard Braunecke

their family was really nice and we always enjoyed them...
he and his wife, never minded that were kids... we were all just
like friends, on equal levels...

had fun camping a few times with them, as well...

condolences to his family and loved ones...
thank you for being a good friend to my daddy, and to us...


note:
my daddy was having his pacemaker troubles, about this time, and was in the hospital since christmas day, so he may not even know this...

my mom just a german notice-card, during the first week or so, of january...

neebee

Social climber
calif/texas
Topic Author's Reply - Jan 26, 2014 - 12:14am PT
hey there say,...

yes-- a man is known by his deeds...

others thought so too:

Despite his academic achievements and recognitions, Prof. Lohmann had a remarkably humble attitude, an amicable personality and a great sense of generosity.

we loved you, sir... :)

he always let us call him adolf, and we called his wife, karla...

:)


here is another very nice article of remembrance:



ICO Mourns the passing away of Adolf Lohman
Adolf Lohman was ICO president 1978-1981.

It is with great sadness that we have to inform the worldwide optics community of the passing away of Professor Adolf W Lohmann on 15 December 2013, at the age of 87.

Adolf, an internationally distinguished scientist, was perhaps the world’s foremost pioneer and leader in the area of optical information processing. His many seminal contributions helped develop the fields of holography and computer holography, classical interferometry, speckle interferometry, a better understanding of 3D wave fields, self-imaging, partially coherent optical processing, digital optical computing, the Wigner distribution and fractional transformations in information optics, super resolution, temporal optical processing, optical similarity, and a subject that he liked to call flatland optics.

His highly original ideas, which linked optics with signal processing, were always delivered with a great sense of joy and in an intellectually elegant manner. Adolf was not simply ingenious; he was also a fundamentally good and hardworking person with a magnetic personality and a profound sense of generosity. Over a period spanning decades, Adolf inspired and attracted students and visiting scientists from around the world to work with him and members of his prestigious groups, first at the University of California at San Diego in La Jolla, USA, and subsequently at the Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen, Germany.

The Applied Optics group in Erlangen was a truly outstanding international centre for the conduct of research in a friendly environment that was notable for its ability to inspire original developments. For many of his students and visiting researchers, he instilled, seemingly effortlessly and without evident intent, a sense of family that continued into his retirement years and even today. It came as no great surprise to his friends and colleagues that nearly 100 “Lohmann optics” people attended a symposium in 2006 celebrating his 80th birthday.

For many years Adolf participated as speaker and as a German delegate at ICO meetings. He served as an ICO vice-president from 1975 to 1978, and at the 11th triennial meeting of the ICO, held in Madrid, Spain, in 1978, he was elected ICO President, a position that he held from 1978 to 1981. Adolf organized the ICO Topical Meeting “Optics in 4-Dimensions,” held in Ensenada, Mexico, in 1980, and the ICO-15 triennial meeting held at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, in 1990. Thereafter, in multiple ways, Adolf continued in his commitment to ICO.

He exhibited a sky-clear style when writing scientific papers. Often he dared to explore nonconventional topics in novel ways, always favouring visual representations. For many good examples of such presentations we direct interested persons to his book Optical Information Processing, which for several years was privately printed and is now available as a publication of the Technical University of Ilmenau.

His many scientific achievements were recognized through the following distinctions: IBM Invention Award, 1964; IBM Outstanding Invention Award, 1967; Federal Medal of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz, Germany), 1981; SPIE President’s Award, 1983; Max Born Award of the Optical Society of America, 1984; C.E.K. Mees Medal of the Optical Society of America, 1987; and the Emmet Leith medal of the Optical Society of America, 2008.

He was also honored by the 2002 publication by SPIE of the book Optical Information Processing: A Tribute to Adolf Lohmann. Despite his many achievements, Adolf was at heart a humble person, ready to share his accolades with others.He insisted that he and his co-authors of journal papers be listed in alphabetical order in order to assure that his name not be over-emphasized.

The international optics community will remember Adolf and his lasting contributions. He is survived by daughters Sabine, Johanna, Luise and Eva and grandchildren Franka and Max.

Johannes Schwider, Gerd Häusler and Jorge Ojeda-Castañeda
Freyashawk

Mountain climber
La Jolla, California
Jul 8, 2014 - 02:15pm PT
Sorry to hear of his passing. My sister and I were childhood friends of the family as well. Does any one have an address for Sabine by any chance? I would love to get in touch.
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