Eugene Engels Jr., a nearly 30-year professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy (1970-1999), including six years as department chair (1985-1990), died June 30, 2024, at 90.
Born in 1933, Engels earned his bachelor of science degree with honors from Caltech in 1955 and was commissioned an officer in the Air Force, where he served at Edwards Air Force Base in California with the Air Research and Development Command (1955-1957).
He received his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1962, then joined Harvard as instructor in physics, and then assistant professor and associate professor (1962-1970). He then joined the Pitt faculty as professor in 1970, gaining emeritus status in 1999. He was also a visiting scientist at the Centre d’Etudes Nucleaires de Saclay, France (1980-1981).
His former colleagues, emeritus professors Steve Dytman and Frank Tabakin, wrote a remembrance for the UTimes:
Gene had a highly distinguished career at the University of Pittsburgh. That career included not only performing original and creative research in high energy experimental physics, but also the establishment of a talented and vital group in that field at Pitt. He was an outstanding scientist and a brilliant teacher, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Part of his success in these activities was his intrinsic charm, which served to inspire his colleagues and his students to greater achievements.
Gene came to Pitt in 1970 as a tenured professor. He was initially supported by a National Science Foundation/Centers of Excellence Program aimed at building a strong high energy experimental group. He succeeded in that goal admirably and that group, enhanced by outstanding additions, remains an important contributor to a broad range of high energy research internationally. Over the years the Pitt group contributed to many fundamental experiments at Brookhaven National Lab, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (better known by its French acronym CERN) and Fermilab.
The high energy experimental group embarked on studies of the fundamental building blocks of matter, which involves examining the sub-atomic world using collisions between highly energetic beams of particles at accelerators. Earlier, it was thought that those fundamental building blocks were electrons, protons and neutrons, enhanced by photons. By the 1960s, that view was challenged and a new proposal explained high energy electron-proton collisions by suggesting that protons and neutrons consisted of new fundamental particles called quarks. A wide range of particles called hadrons could then be described in terms of quarks. That theory became quantum chromodynamics and was the basis for what is now called the standard model of subatomic physics.
When Gene was forming the Pitt high energy experimental group. only three types of quarks (two standard and one more recently named “strange”) were expected, but further experiments led to additional quark types dubbed charmed, bottom and top. The question arose as to what hadron-like systems could be built from such ingredients and which could be detected and measured. The Pitt group joined this task with great success. Their first experiments investigated the detailed properties of hadrons containing a single strange quark and these provided strong confirmation of the quark model.
The Fermilab experiments were highlighted by the discoveries of the Bc meson (an exotic hadron composed of bottom and charmed quarks) and the top quark (the last quark to be discovered, which is also the heaviest). Gene led the effort to develop technology of silicon microstrip detectors at Pitt. These were key components providing superior vertex resolution which enabled the study of very short-lived particles such as the top quark at Fermilab.
“Gene came to Pitt at a time of great interest in fundamental interactions,” recalled Paul Shepard, another departmental professor emeritus and Engels’ long-time collaborator. “Many important discoveries came during his career and he was a valuable contributor both in technology and physics. By the time he retired, the standard model picture of six quarks was firmly established.”
One of Eugene Engels’ greatest contributions to the University was as a teacher. He taught a variety of courses with a unique style that conveyed a lot of warmth and knowledge to many undergraduate and graduate students. He wanted students to love learning and in that he was highly successful. He greatly enjoyed teaching and indeed, even after retirement, Gene continued teaching and led advanced undergraduate courses until age 84.
Gene was a person of great culture and insight. He had broad knowledge not only in his selected field, but also in history, art, politics and especially music. He taught courses on physics in music at Pitt’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and Frank Tabakin recalls that “it was a special treat to hear Gene perform Mozart as a professional-level flutist.” He was a person who could give excellent advice and guidance, all delivered with grace, kindness and humor.
Many department faculty, staff and students remember his joie de vivre and great humor in almost any situation, often at his own expense. He was part of a group that had close cordial relationships. Steve Dytman recalls his ready willingness to deal positively with almost every situation. Dytman also remembers the happy times visiting with Gene in retirement.
A remembrance posted by his department notes that Engels was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society in 1988, adding: “Those of us who knew him remember the unflagging positive energy Gene brought to any gathering.”
Engels is survived by his two sons with his wife of 51 years, Katrin: Lars and Oliver.