July 15, 2008
Dear Carolyn,
I want to express my deepest sympathy to you and your family as Jack has passed on and entered into the eternal presence of our Lord. Since we learned of Jack’s cancer diagnosis, our hearts have been heavy and we have prayed for peace and comfort for Jack, you and your family.
I am grateful to you for establishing the Howard Family Blog. Through the blog, you have shared with us Jack’s and your family’s journey during his illness - the joys and the sorrows - and the beautiful testimony to his life found in the letters sent by family, friends, colleagues, and former students. I faithfully followed it throughout these months. I’d often read the blog just before retiring for the night, but then I couldn’t go to sleep because I was either sad thinking about your suffering or overwhelmed at how God used Jack in so many people’s lives.
Jack lived a blessed life and his life was a blessing to all who knew him. Jack was indeed a very special man. Each time I was with him, I was touched by his gentle, warm smile and manner. Throughout the years, Bill spoke of Jack with love; grateful for the lessons Jack taught him and the kindness Jack showed him. The message that keeps coming through in the letters to Jack and your family is the positive impact that he had on people’s lives. Jack touched people from every decade of his life!
Carolyn, years ago you told me that you’d get sermon tapes from a former pastor and you loved listening to them because he always pointed to Christ. Throughout his life, Jack pointed to Christ, not just by word but by deed - by the way he lived and worked and treated others. Jack faithfully used the intellectual gifts that God gave him to bring glory to God. Through his hard work, he made many contributions that benefited others and this pleased the Lord. Jack had the gift of encouragement and throughout his life he chose to encourage others and hence honored God. Even during the final months on this earth, Jack shared his love for Christ and the hope he had in Him.
Jack “spoke” of his love for the Lord by who he was and how he lived. This love didn’t just “leak out somewhere” as your dear pastor said. Anyone who reads the blog letters will see that Jack’s life overflowed with his love for Christ. He led a life of faith in God and obedience to His Word. I tell my children that if they obey the Lord – if they do what they know is right – then God is glorified, they will be blessed and they will be a blessing to others. Jack is the perfect example of this. The fruits he bore as a result of his obedience glorified the Lord and blessed others. Again, from the blog letters, you can see that throughout Jack’s entire life, he bore all of the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Those fruits, given by the Spirit, were given not only for his benefit, but so that he could be a blessing to others. His family, friends, colleagues, and former students were the recipients of his love, his patience, his kindness, his goodness. Praise the Lord for His provision!
I have printed the contents of the blog. Bill and I have talked quite a bit about Jack this week. We want our children to read the blog, so that they can get a glimpse into the life of this wonderful, dear man. His character, his humility, his grace, his curiosity, his wisdom, his work ethic, his love for his family and the Lord beautifully appear in these pages. Jack was a gift to many! He lived a full, rich life, but to all who loved him, his life on earth ended too soon. Jonathan mentioned the number 7 on his July 7th blog. Bill reminded me that in scripture, the number 7 is used to show completeness. Because God’s will is perfect, Jack’s life on earth was complete on July 7, 2008. We don’t understand why God chose this moment for Jack to be with Him, but by faith we know that he is in the presence of our Lord.
Carolyn, again, I thank you for sharing these last months of Jack’s life with us. It was a beautiful testimony and God was glorified through it all. You and Jack were and always will be a great team. His legacy is a legacy of love. I’m quite sure that Jack “pressed” his goodness into his children. I encourage them to follow Jack’s example to seek to know, love, and obey the Lord Jesus. Their lives will be exciting and full of love, joy, peace, and blessings, and others will say, “he/she reminds me of Jack.”
My prayer for you and your children is from Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
I close with some scriptures that remind of Jack. I hope they will be an encouragement to you. What a blessing he was to all of us!
Sincerely,
Rosie
______________________________________________________________________
“Jesus replied, ‘If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.’” John 14:23
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” Philippians 2:1 – 7
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3: 12 - 17
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Condolence from Murray Height former PhD student
Dear Carolyn,
I wanted to send you a note to let you know how sad I am to hear about Jack passing away. I was hoping to be able to come to Boston for the memorial yesterday but was unfortunately unable to make it over in time from Switzerland. In any event, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family at this time.
I have spent much time over the last week thinking about Jack and reflecting on memories of working with Jack at MIT. When I came to the US from Australia in 1999 I knew I wanted to work with Jack, and a big part of that was the friendly and straightforward manner in which he worked with people. I loved working towards my PhD and Jack had a way of challenging, supporting and nurturing that had a profoundly positive impact on the way that I think and look at the world. I appreciate every moment of my time at MIT and know that Jack was a big reason for that. I feel very fortunate to have known him and to be counted as a student of such an intelligent, gentle and wonderful man.
With love and deepest sympathy,
Murray
Murray HeightPhD. MIT Chief Technology Officer HeiQ Materials AGOffice
+41 (0)56 250 68 50Fax +41 (0)56 250 68 51Mob +41 (0)76 565 76 76 Email height@heiq.comWeb WWW.HEIQ.COMZürcherstrasse 425330
Bad ZurzachSwitzerlandHeiQ Materials AG is a Swiss Manufacturing Company of High-performance additives, Coatings and masterbatches for the Textile and Medical device industry.
I wanted to send you a note to let you know how sad I am to hear about Jack passing away. I was hoping to be able to come to Boston for the memorial yesterday but was unfortunately unable to make it over in time from Switzerland. In any event, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family at this time.
I have spent much time over the last week thinking about Jack and reflecting on memories of working with Jack at MIT. When I came to the US from Australia in 1999 I knew I wanted to work with Jack, and a big part of that was the friendly and straightforward manner in which he worked with people. I loved working towards my PhD and Jack had a way of challenging, supporting and nurturing that had a profoundly positive impact on the way that I think and look at the world. I appreciate every moment of my time at MIT and know that Jack was a big reason for that. I feel very fortunate to have known him and to be counted as a student of such an intelligent, gentle and wonderful man.
With love and deepest sympathy,
Murray
Murray HeightPhD. MIT Chief Technology Officer HeiQ Materials AGOffice
+41 (0)56 250 68 50Fax +41 (0)56 250 68 51Mob +41 (0)76 565 76 76 Email height@heiq.comWeb WWW.HEIQ.COMZürcherstrasse 425330
Bad ZurzachSwitzerlandHeiQ Materials AG is a Swiss Manufacturing Company of High-performance additives, Coatings and masterbatches for the Textile and Medical device industry.
Condolence from Chris Pope, a friend and former PhD student
Dear Carolyn, Courtenay, Jonathan, and Megan,
I send my sympathy and condolences about your loss. I trust that the Prince of Peace will grant your hearts and spirits “the peace that passeth all understanding”. Allow yourselves to be human at this time; remember that His strength is perfected in weakness. The battle is over. We all know Jack is with the Lord now -- because God loved him so much that he got tired of having a long-distance relationship.
I gladly would have given anything to visit Jack at the end, and to attend the memorial service. My absence was solely due to lack of funds. Rest assured that I am there in spirit with you all. When I make it out there next, I will visit, if you wish.
I am embarrassed to say that Jack’s death caught me by surprise. After your blog entry on May 27th, when he was doing quite well, it seemed to me that Jack was one of those who had attained long-term recovery. My next news came from Phil’s letter last week about Jack’s passing into the higher realms. It was a tough reminder that nothing, nothing at all, can be taken for granted in this world, that the answer to the question "Isn't this the very moment when connection and caring would be most appropriate?" [Chellis Glendinning] is YES. “For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)
Jack Howard the professor delighted in gaining and sharing knowledge; now he not only has the joy of complete knowledge but also the knowledge of complete joy -- a knowledge for which we will have to wait a bit longer for until we reunite with him in the presence of the Lord.
“There was a message written in pencil on the tiles by the roller towel. This was it:WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LIFE?
Trout plundered his pockets for a pen or pencil. He had an answer to the question. But he had nothing to write with, not even a burnt match. So he left the question unanswered, but here is what he would have written, if he had found anything to write with: To be the eyes and ears and conscience of the Creator of the Universe, you fool.” [Kurt Vonnegut, “Breakfast of Champions”]
Nobody can ever call Jack Howard a fool. He allowed the Lord to work through him in ever so many ways. He also knew that his real treasures were in heaven; his heart was there with Christ. [Matthew 6:19-21] Whether or not Jack verbally expressed his faith was nowhere near as important as the example he gave of how to live guided by the Spirit.
It would have been nice for him as my supervisor for my graduate and post-doctoral work to have been around long enough to see me attain success professionally. Let me take that back. He will be able to see, but I won’t be able to see and hear his pleasure in it. In one other important way, I already have “made it”. When he signed my email “your friend, Jack”, I knew that he saw me as an equal. No paycheck can match that.
The doctoral thesis I wrote for Jack was dedicated “to the One who loved to play so much that He/She/It created a universe with 7 A[ngstrom] soccerballs in it.” {7 Angstroms is the diameter of the fullerene C60, roughly 30 billionths of an inch.] In days long passed, some considered how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. Jack will no doubt let them know that the correct question is how many angels can play soccer there, and will help them arrive at the proper answer. As the chant goes: “May the long time Sun shine upon you, all love surround you, and the pure light within you, guide your way home.” Jack is home now. It is our loss... and the world’s loss. But he lives on in our minds and hearts.
with my concern, sympathy, and love,
Chris
Christopher J. Pope
1550 Springtown Blvd. #17
E Livermore, CA 94551(925) 895-3424
I send my sympathy and condolences about your loss. I trust that the Prince of Peace will grant your hearts and spirits “the peace that passeth all understanding”. Allow yourselves to be human at this time; remember that His strength is perfected in weakness. The battle is over. We all know Jack is with the Lord now -- because God loved him so much that he got tired of having a long-distance relationship.
I gladly would have given anything to visit Jack at the end, and to attend the memorial service. My absence was solely due to lack of funds. Rest assured that I am there in spirit with you all. When I make it out there next, I will visit, if you wish.
I am embarrassed to say that Jack’s death caught me by surprise. After your blog entry on May 27th, when he was doing quite well, it seemed to me that Jack was one of those who had attained long-term recovery. My next news came from Phil’s letter last week about Jack’s passing into the higher realms. It was a tough reminder that nothing, nothing at all, can be taken for granted in this world, that the answer to the question "Isn't this the very moment when connection and caring would be most appropriate?" [Chellis Glendinning] is YES. “For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)
Jack Howard the professor delighted in gaining and sharing knowledge; now he not only has the joy of complete knowledge but also the knowledge of complete joy -- a knowledge for which we will have to wait a bit longer for until we reunite with him in the presence of the Lord.
“There was a message written in pencil on the tiles by the roller towel. This was it:WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LIFE?
Trout plundered his pockets for a pen or pencil. He had an answer to the question. But he had nothing to write with, not even a burnt match. So he left the question unanswered, but here is what he would have written, if he had found anything to write with: To be the eyes and ears and conscience of the Creator of the Universe, you fool.” [Kurt Vonnegut, “Breakfast of Champions”]
Nobody can ever call Jack Howard a fool. He allowed the Lord to work through him in ever so many ways. He also knew that his real treasures were in heaven; his heart was there with Christ. [Matthew 6:19-21] Whether or not Jack verbally expressed his faith was nowhere near as important as the example he gave of how to live guided by the Spirit.
It would have been nice for him as my supervisor for my graduate and post-doctoral work to have been around long enough to see me attain success professionally. Let me take that back. He will be able to see, but I won’t be able to see and hear his pleasure in it. In one other important way, I already have “made it”. When he signed my email “your friend, Jack”, I knew that he saw me as an equal. No paycheck can match that.
The doctoral thesis I wrote for Jack was dedicated “to the One who loved to play so much that He/She/It created a universe with 7 A[ngstrom] soccerballs in it.” {7 Angstroms is the diameter of the fullerene C60, roughly 30 billionths of an inch.] In days long passed, some considered how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. Jack will no doubt let them know that the correct question is how many angels can play soccer there, and will help them arrive at the proper answer. As the chant goes: “May the long time Sun shine upon you, all love surround you, and the pure light within you, guide your way home.” Jack is home now. It is our loss... and the world’s loss. But he lives on in our minds and hearts.
with my concern, sympathy, and love,
Chris
Christopher J. Pope
1550 Springtown Blvd. #17
E Livermore, CA 94551(925) 895-3424
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Boston Globe Obituary July 14, 2008
Jack Howard; MIT Professor guided by both Science; Faith
As tilling the soil of a Kentucky tobacco farm as a child gave way to cultivating the fields of chemical engineering at MIT as an adult, Jack B.Howard kept sight of the source of his good fortune." He felt that everything that had happened to him his whole life was a gift, a gift from God," Carolyn Howard said of her husband, who never felt compelled to choose, as many do, between science and religion. "The spiritual side of him was something that was extremely important to him. He was a devout Christian and it was really, really important to him that we express to people our Christianity."
A man of science and a man of faith, Dr. Howard walked an improbable path from a farmhouse with a dirt floor to founding Nano-C, a biotech company for which he also chaired the board of directors. He died of brain cancer on July 7 in the MIT Infirmary, a short walk from the buildings where he had taught and conducted research. Dr. Howard was 70 and had lived in Winchester for 35 years. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he arrived as a Ford Foundation fellow for postdoctoral research in 1965, Dr. Howard was the first to hold the Hoyt C. Hottel chair of chemical engineering. Retiring as professor emeritus in 2002, he founded Nano-C, a Westwood firm that develops nanostructured carbon products, including fullerenes, carbon molecules that have a shape similar to the geodesic domes popularized by Buckminster Fuller. From Fuller the molecules draw their name -Buckminsterfullerenes, or buckyballs for short.
Decades ago before discovering a way to more efficiently manufacture microscopic buckyballs, which are expected to have pharmaceutical andindustrial uses, Dr. Howard's first experiments were more basic."His father let each of the children have their own crop," his wife said,"and he grew watermelons."
Born in Kentucky, just north of the Tennessee border, Dr. Howard lived on a farm outside Tompkinsville, a city of about 2,600. While he was growing up, the farmhouse accumulated modern amenities, his wife said, but initially it was "a very simple abode - no running water, no electricity, no telephones, and a dirt floor. And they only went to school October to April because it was farm country. You had harvest in the fall and plant in the spring." Through eighth grade, Dr. Howard attended a one-room schoolhouse, and he didn't take his first science class until enrolling at the University of Kentucky. He majored in mining engineering and graduated in 1960, then finished a master's in the same subject a year later. Offered scholarships to Penn State and Stanford universities, he chose the former because it was closer to home, and graduated with a doctorate in 1965.
At MIT, he rose to full professor and was one of the specialists consulted for the Globe's "How and Why" feature, answering questions from readers on subjects ranging from the heat of flames to why many people lick the tip of a pencil before writing. "If the lead were truly graphite, then wetting it would probably not make a difference," he told the Globe in 1993, but in pencil lead "the graphite is actually a mix of graphite and some clays. My observation is that wetting the pencil allows you to get a darker line. There's a softening of the material, some absorption of moisture into pore spaces that makes a mix that will rub off more easily."Such musings were a small part of his scientific output, which included many patents and scores of publications. In 1992, he was awarded the Bernard Lewis Gold Medal from the Combustion Institute, an international, nonprofit scientific organization based in Pittsburgh for which he served as a director."This thing was on a shelf in a cabinet," his wife said of the medal. "All of his awards were."
Of more importance was family. He married Carolyn Butler in January 1969 and they had two children. Despite the demands of work, he set aside time to read to his children each evening. "Even though he rose to the pinnacle of academia, he always was home for supper, unless he was traveling," his wife said. "And we never were allowed to answer the phone during dinner. It was truly family time." Dr. Howard's family members kept a blog during his illness, charting the medical journey and the sustenance he and his wife took in their faith.
"Even until the very end, my dad appreciated all things symmetrical,orderly, and mathematic," his son, Jonathan, of Somerville, wrote on July 7."He died today at 70 years old, at 11:05 a.m. (1 + 1 + 5 = 7) on the seventh day of the seventh month of the year."Since boyhood on the farm, Dr. Howard had loved the sound of rain in the evening, which signaled a respite from certain chores the following day. "I like to think that at this moment he is on a farm somewhere beyond our consciousness, serenaded at night by a gentle rain on a tin roof," his son wrote the day Dr. Howard died, "and in the morning will be working heavenly soil with his brother and his dad, a family slowly reuniting in a place more perfect than this one."
In addition to his wife and son, Dr. Howard leaves a daughter, Courtenay, of Winchester; his mother, Opal, of Lexington, Ky.; two sisters, Myra Bushong and Bess Abney, both of Lexington, Ky.; and a brother, Keith, of Cookeville,Tenn. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in Park Street Church in Boston. A private burial will be held in Skaggs Creek Cemetery, not far from the farm where Dr. Howard grew up.
As tilling the soil of a Kentucky tobacco farm as a child gave way to cultivating the fields of chemical engineering at MIT as an adult, Jack B.Howard kept sight of the source of his good fortune." He felt that everything that had happened to him his whole life was a gift, a gift from God," Carolyn Howard said of her husband, who never felt compelled to choose, as many do, between science and religion. "The spiritual side of him was something that was extremely important to him. He was a devout Christian and it was really, really important to him that we express to people our Christianity."
A man of science and a man of faith, Dr. Howard walked an improbable path from a farmhouse with a dirt floor to founding Nano-C, a biotech company for which he also chaired the board of directors. He died of brain cancer on July 7 in the MIT Infirmary, a short walk from the buildings where he had taught and conducted research. Dr. Howard was 70 and had lived in Winchester for 35 years. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he arrived as a Ford Foundation fellow for postdoctoral research in 1965, Dr. Howard was the first to hold the Hoyt C. Hottel chair of chemical engineering. Retiring as professor emeritus in 2002, he founded Nano-C, a Westwood firm that develops nanostructured carbon products, including fullerenes, carbon molecules that have a shape similar to the geodesic domes popularized by Buckminster Fuller. From Fuller the molecules draw their name -Buckminsterfullerenes, or buckyballs for short.
Decades ago before discovering a way to more efficiently manufacture microscopic buckyballs, which are expected to have pharmaceutical andindustrial uses, Dr. Howard's first experiments were more basic."His father let each of the children have their own crop," his wife said,"and he grew watermelons."
Born in Kentucky, just north of the Tennessee border, Dr. Howard lived on a farm outside Tompkinsville, a city of about 2,600. While he was growing up, the farmhouse accumulated modern amenities, his wife said, but initially it was "a very simple abode - no running water, no electricity, no telephones, and a dirt floor. And they only went to school October to April because it was farm country. You had harvest in the fall and plant in the spring." Through eighth grade, Dr. Howard attended a one-room schoolhouse, and he didn't take his first science class until enrolling at the University of Kentucky. He majored in mining engineering and graduated in 1960, then finished a master's in the same subject a year later. Offered scholarships to Penn State and Stanford universities, he chose the former because it was closer to home, and graduated with a doctorate in 1965.
At MIT, he rose to full professor and was one of the specialists consulted for the Globe's "How and Why" feature, answering questions from readers on subjects ranging from the heat of flames to why many people lick the tip of a pencil before writing. "If the lead were truly graphite, then wetting it would probably not make a difference," he told the Globe in 1993, but in pencil lead "the graphite is actually a mix of graphite and some clays. My observation is that wetting the pencil allows you to get a darker line. There's a softening of the material, some absorption of moisture into pore spaces that makes a mix that will rub off more easily."Such musings were a small part of his scientific output, which included many patents and scores of publications. In 1992, he was awarded the Bernard Lewis Gold Medal from the Combustion Institute, an international, nonprofit scientific organization based in Pittsburgh for which he served as a director."This thing was on a shelf in a cabinet," his wife said of the medal. "All of his awards were."
Of more importance was family. He married Carolyn Butler in January 1969 and they had two children. Despite the demands of work, he set aside time to read to his children each evening. "Even though he rose to the pinnacle of academia, he always was home for supper, unless he was traveling," his wife said. "And we never were allowed to answer the phone during dinner. It was truly family time." Dr. Howard's family members kept a blog during his illness, charting the medical journey and the sustenance he and his wife took in their faith.
"Even until the very end, my dad appreciated all things symmetrical,orderly, and mathematic," his son, Jonathan, of Somerville, wrote on July 7."He died today at 70 years old, at 11:05 a.m. (1 + 1 + 5 = 7) on the seventh day of the seventh month of the year."Since boyhood on the farm, Dr. Howard had loved the sound of rain in the evening, which signaled a respite from certain chores the following day. "I like to think that at this moment he is on a farm somewhere beyond our consciousness, serenaded at night by a gentle rain on a tin roof," his son wrote the day Dr. Howard died, "and in the morning will be working heavenly soil with his brother and his dad, a family slowly reuniting in a place more perfect than this one."
In addition to his wife and son, Dr. Howard leaves a daughter, Courtenay, of Winchester; his mother, Opal, of Lexington, Ky.; two sisters, Myra Bushong and Bess Abney, both of Lexington, Ky.; and a brother, Keith, of Cookeville,Tenn. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in Park Street Church in Boston. A private burial will be held in Skaggs Creek Cemetery, not far from the farm where Dr. Howard grew up.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Condolences from Howard Franklin - a former Jack PhD student
Dear Carolyn, Courtney, and Jonathan,
My deepest condolences on Prof. Howard’s passing. I was a doctoral student and post-doc of his between 1977 and 1981.
Prof. Howard was a wonderful teacher, supervisor, and human being. He did me personal kindnesses that made a major difference to my life and my career. He was warm, kind, funny, gentle, and a very great pleasure to work for and with. I actually did not select my PhD thesis topic, I first selected him as the supervisor I really wanted to work for and then selected whatever he was working on as my thesis topic. I have had many reasons over the years to be thankful for my choice.
May your family know of no more sorrows.
Howard Franklin
My deepest condolences on Prof. Howard’s passing. I was a doctoral student and post-doc of his between 1977 and 1981.
Prof. Howard was a wonderful teacher, supervisor, and human being. He did me personal kindnesses that made a major difference to my life and my career. He was warm, kind, funny, gentle, and a very great pleasure to work for and with. I actually did not select my PhD thesis topic, I first selected him as the supervisor I really wanted to work for and then selected whatever he was working on as my thesis topic. I have had many reasons over the years to be thankful for my choice.
May your family know of no more sorrows.
Howard Franklin
Letter from Combustion Institute - organization that Jack was very actively involved
The Combustion Institute
5001 Baum Boulevard, Suite 635
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213-1851 USA
Telephone: (412)687-1366 Fax: (412)687-0340
Email: office@combustioninstitute.org
July 13th, 2008
Carolyn Howard
24 Central St
Winchester, MA 01890-2630
USA
Jack B. Howard – In Memoriam
With the passing of Jack Howard, the Combustion institute has lost one of its greats. Jack gave us so much by way of original research, teaching, and service to our community
Jack’s work in coal and other carbons, ranging from soot to fullerene, stands out for its breadth and depth. He provided insights into the processing of coal to produce gases and liquids that were at the forefront in the 1970’s and 1980’s and still today have special significance as the world grapples with the problem of energy supply, in which coal will continue to play a major role. Similarly, his work on active sites in carbon reactions set the scene for much of the work that has followed. His studies of fullerenes from combustion sources changed the way we thought about soot and provided the basis not only for much future work, but also for Jack’s ‘post-retirement’ business activities in nanocarbons.
Jack gave generously of his time and wise counsel to promoting the interests of the Institute and the community it represents, including being a Board Member from 1994-2006. He was accorded every scientific honour and responsibility that our Institute can bestow:
Symposium Program Chair, 19th Symposium, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel in 1982.
Silver Medal, at the 20th Symposium, University of Michigan (1984), for the paper with Jim Bittner entitled "Mechanisms of hydrocarbon decay in fuel-rich secondary reaction zones."
Bernard Lewis Gold Medal, at the 24th Symposium, University of Sydney "for the kinetics of soot formation and coal pyrolysis".
Symposium plenary lecture: 23rd Symposium, University of Orléans, France (1992) "Carbon additions and oxidation reactions in heterogeneous combustion and soot formation".
At a personal level, I interacted with Jack when I was at MIT from 1979 to 1981. Our research fields overlapped in part and, while we I did not work directly together, I learned first-hand of his unfailingly gentlemanly nature and scholarly disposition. The hospitality you and Jack showed me and my wife at a time when we were starting our own family has never been forgotten.
The Combustion Institute salutes the life and work of Jack Howard. His contributions were immense and the legacy of his work will endure for many years.
Our thoughts and best wishes are with you and your family at this time.
Brian S. Haynes
President
5001 Baum Boulevard, Suite 635
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213-1851 USA
Telephone: (412)687-1366 Fax: (412)687-0340
Email: office@combustioninstitute.org
July 13th, 2008
Carolyn Howard
24 Central St
Winchester, MA 01890-2630
USA
Jack B. Howard – In Memoriam
With the passing of Jack Howard, the Combustion institute has lost one of its greats. Jack gave us so much by way of original research, teaching, and service to our community
Jack’s work in coal and other carbons, ranging from soot to fullerene, stands out for its breadth and depth. He provided insights into the processing of coal to produce gases and liquids that were at the forefront in the 1970’s and 1980’s and still today have special significance as the world grapples with the problem of energy supply, in which coal will continue to play a major role. Similarly, his work on active sites in carbon reactions set the scene for much of the work that has followed. His studies of fullerenes from combustion sources changed the way we thought about soot and provided the basis not only for much future work, but also for Jack’s ‘post-retirement’ business activities in nanocarbons.
Jack gave generously of his time and wise counsel to promoting the interests of the Institute and the community it represents, including being a Board Member from 1994-2006. He was accorded every scientific honour and responsibility that our Institute can bestow:
Symposium Program Chair, 19th Symposium, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel in 1982.
Silver Medal, at the 20th Symposium, University of Michigan (1984), for the paper with Jim Bittner entitled "Mechanisms of hydrocarbon decay in fuel-rich secondary reaction zones."
Bernard Lewis Gold Medal, at the 24th Symposium, University of Sydney "for the kinetics of soot formation and coal pyrolysis".
Symposium plenary lecture: 23rd Symposium, University of Orléans, France (1992) "Carbon additions and oxidation reactions in heterogeneous combustion and soot formation".
At a personal level, I interacted with Jack when I was at MIT from 1979 to 1981. Our research fields overlapped in part and, while we I did not work directly together, I learned first-hand of his unfailingly gentlemanly nature and scholarly disposition. The hospitality you and Jack showed me and my wife at a time when we were starting our own family has never been forgotten.
The Combustion Institute salutes the life and work of Jack Howard. His contributions were immense and the legacy of his work will endure for many years.
Our thoughts and best wishes are with you and your family at this time.
Brian S. Haynes
President
Condelence from Jeff and Sue Tester, MIT colleague and friend
Dear Carolyn,
Please excuse me for using email for this note. I just learned that Jack's memorial service is scheduled for Wed, July 16th. Unfortunately, neither Sue or I can attend -- I will be on the West coast and Sue is dealing with her aging 94 year old mother. Although we won't be there in person, we certainly will be in spirit as Jack. You both have been wonderful friends and an inspiration to us for the 40 years we have known you. I have never met a person as kind and modest as Jack -- he was as far from the prototypical MIT professor as is humanly possible.
Sue and I send our love and deepest condolences to you and your children during these difficult times.
Affectionately ,
Jeff
Please excuse me for using email for this note. I just learned that Jack's memorial service is scheduled for Wed, July 16th. Unfortunately, neither Sue or I can attend -- I will be on the West coast and Sue is dealing with her aging 94 year old mother. Although we won't be there in person, we certainly will be in spirit as Jack. You both have been wonderful friends and an inspiration to us for the 40 years we have known you. I have never met a person as kind and modest as Jack -- he was as far from the prototypical MIT professor as is humanly possible.
Sue and I send our love and deepest condolences to you and your children during these difficult times.
Affectionately ,
Jeff
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