I just heard that astronomer John Huchra has died. Astronomy has lost a big player and a very nice man.
His contributions to the field of cosmology are wide and deep. You can read some of them over at Cosmic Variance.
In college and grad school we learned about his accomplishments, like the redshift survey, and the famous stickman image. For years, he wasn’t much more than a name to me, although one associated with big, important cosmological results.
And then, just a couple of years ago, I ran into him for what I think was the first time. It was at an American Astronomical Society meeting. Every year there’s a big party with dancing at some club or bar, and of all the places that was where I met him (he’s shown here with astronomer Pamela Gay at that party). We chatted for a while, and I was surprised to find he was warm, funny, even a bit silly. I remember some of the folks were giving away astronomically-themed temporary tattoos, and he wanted to get one.
I shouldn’t have been too surprised– lots of astronomers are very, very different than the stuffy, stiff mold our brains stereotype them as — but it sure is nice to know that some of the great ones really are human. I’m saddened by the loss to the community, and to science. We could use more folks like John.
October 10th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
Speaking from a point 9 years his senior, I can say we’ve lost Professor Huchra WAY too soon.
October 10th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
John was a senior grad student at Caltech when I started there. He was always funny, kind, and self-effacing, while being an extraordinarily hard-working, thoughtful, and productive astronomer. I agree … he definitely left us way too soon!
October 10th, 2010 at 6:03 pm
Well, that’s truly sad news. I met John Huchra when he spent a sabbatical at Santa Cruz, and taught a “topics in astronomy” course while I was a grad student there in the 90s. The arguments over the value of the Hubble constant were still going on, and he had some very interesting insight as to why Sandage and deVaucouleur disagreed.
He’ll be missed.
October 10th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
A terrible loss… For those of you who have thoughts to share, there is a guestbook at http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/bostonglobe/guestbook.aspx?n=john-huchra&pid=145866935
October 10th, 2010 at 6:45 pm
Shocked and saddened to hear this news. A great loss.
October 10th, 2010 at 11:37 pm
Thanks for this post, Phil. John was a huge factor in making CfA a good place to work and it’s hard to imagine what it’ll be like without him. I’ve posted some more AAS pics of him at http://www.planet4589.org/jcm/trips/huchra/index.html
October 11th, 2010 at 1:19 am
As an undergraduate at Harvard, I can affirm that he was a truly amazing man. It was a definite shock to lose him so soon. As talented and hard-working of an astronomer as he was, I still remember him as the nice, funny guy, who always found time for everyone.
October 11th, 2010 at 3:32 am
“Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” Psalm 90. John dreamed of living to 100, of seeing his granchildren- he wanted most life, and time with loved ones. He was an outstanding scientist and warm human being. Our field is much less for his passing; such terrible news this is… it cannot be real. In addition to his profound scientific contributions, I appreciate his untiring dedication to professional ethics. Our field has sustained a terrible loss, as John was a great leader with a fine heart.
October 11th, 2010 at 7:53 am
I never met Dr. Huchra up close, but at the 213th AAS meeting, I was at the banquet and they had invited an astronomy-themed improve comedy group, the Galileo Players . At the end, they had a sketch where Dr. Huchra was debating Socrates and they painted Dr. Huchra to an embarrassing corner. It seemed like half the audience was shocked or appalled, but it was obvious Dr. Huchra had an excellent sense of humor.
October 11th, 2010 at 11:57 am
I can’t say enough good things about John Huchra. He was an excellent scientist and a kind person who always had a smile on his face. I wish I had gotten the chance to work with him more. He will be greatly missed.
October 12th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
Phil, thank you so much for posting this. John will be missed. I just starting working at AAS and he was Chair of the public policy committee that I work on. In the short time I knew him I found him to be very intelligent, funny, and a great astronomer.
May 9th, 2012 at 9:50 am
[...] in obituaries in The New York Times, and The Telegraph, as well as blogs from Cosmic Variance, and The Bad Astronomer, and Astronomy [...]