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leoPold B. felseN
1924–2005
elected in 1977
“For contribution to the theory and application of microwave propagation in
complex media and for leadership in engineering education.”
By THeodor TaMir
sUBMiTTed By THe Nae HoMe secreTary
leoPold B. felseN, an internationally renowned
authority on wave electrodynamics with applications to
electrical engineering, optics, acoustics, and geophysics, died
on september 24, 2005, at the age of 81.
leo, as his close colleagues and friends generally knew
him, was born in Munich, germany, on May 7, 1924, to Jewish
parents. Upon witnessing anti-semitic persecutions that were
initiated by the Nazis before World War ii, his parents sent
him in 1939 to england, after which he managed to reach New
york in 1940. as a new american, he served in the army for
three years. He thereafter married his wife sima in 1944 and
they had two children, Michael and Judy.
Prompted by an early but keen mathematical insight
and interest in science and engineering, leo studied at the
Polytechnic institute of Brooklyn (now Polytechnic institute
of New york University), where he received the degrees of
B.e.e., M.e.e., and d.e.e. in 1948, 1949, and 1952, respectively.
He then joined the faculty of that institute, where he became
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professor of electrophysics in 1961, dean of engineering in
1974, university professor in 1978, and university professor
emeritus in 1994. in 1975 his wife sima died, and a few years
later leo learned that he suffered from a rare form of muscular
dystrophy that slowly wasted away his muscular system. To
live closer to his family, he substantially reduced his activities
at the Polytechnic in 1994 and joined Boston University as
a professor in the aerospace and Mechanical engineering
department.
leo was granted top-rank membership as life fellow in
the institute of electrical and electronics engineers (ieee),
fellow of the optical society of america (osa), and fellow of
the acoustical society of america (asa). He received many
additional honors in his lifetime, which included a guggenheim
fellowship in 1973, ieee/aPs distinguished lecturer in 1974,
the Van der Pol gold Medal from the international radio
science Union (Ursi) in 1975, the Humboldt foundation
senior scientist award from the federal republic of germany
in 1980, the ieee centennial Medal in 1984, the ieee Heinrich
Hertz gold Medal in 1991, the antennas and Propagation
society distinguished achievement award in 1998, and the
ieee electromagnetics award in 2003. in addition, he was
granted many awards for distinguished papers authored
or coauthored by him; also, he was honored with special
recognition awards by academic institutes and professional
societies for his excellence in teaching and research.
Throughout his career, leo held named visiting
professorships and fellowships and was invited to visit and
lecture at distinguished universities and research institutes in
the Soviet Union, Japan, China, Brazil, Korea, Israel, Germany,
Turkey, italy, and other european countries. in that context,
he received honorary doctoral degrees from the Technical
University of denmark (1979); the University of sannio, italy
(2003); the Technical University of Munich, germany (2004);
the Polytechnic University, New york (2005); and the dogus
University of istanbul, Turkey (2005).
Leo’s most significant early achievement was the book
Radiation and Scattering of Waves (Prentice-Hall, 1973) on which
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leoPold B. felseN
he devoted a major portion of his time for five years with
Nathan Marcuvitz as coauthor. This book was reprinted in 1996
by ieee as a classical and invaluable resource for rigorously
solving a multitude of analytical problems involving fields
and waves in electromagnetics, optics, acoustics, geophysics,
and other areas of applied physics. a main feature of the book
is the twofold view in time and frequency domains, which
is treated with the systematic rigor that characterizes all his
work. an important and very useful aspect is the emphasis
on alternative green’s representations; these are subsequently
treated in terms of spectral and asymptotic solutions that
lend insight into physical interpretations of the relevant
phenomena.
leo’s professional papers span a period that started in 1952,
and their impact has been continued posthumously by his many
collaborators. He published over 350 articles on a wide variety
of topics, a short list of which includes the classification and
properties of basic (surface, leaky, lateral, creeping, etc.) waves
that appear in actual propagation and scattering problems;
the development of augmented ray-tracing techniques that
connect typical sources to scattering objects; the construction
of hybrid representations involving finite numbers of rays
and modes that effectively describe field representations that
otherwise require an infinite number of terms; the derivation
of solutions to canonic problems involving realistic beams
having bounded cross-sections; the extension of modal and
ray techniques to the study of transient wave propagation in
complex environments; and many other related topics as well as
their application to typical configurations in electromagnetics,
optics, acoustics, and geophysics.
leo’s dedication to the study of wave phenomena motivated
him to participate in every major national or international
conference that addressed the latest progress on theoretical
aspects in the above areas. His attendance was often by
invitation and, during presentations by others as well as in
subsequent technical discussions, his views usually provided
the conclusive arguments on debates concerning the validity
of a given approach to specific problems and their solutions.
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While leo’s most cherished activity was his academic
research, he was also sought after and highly recognized for
his teaching activities. in this context, he offered primarily
graduate courses on basic aspects of propagation, scattering,
and guiding of waves. in these courses, his approach was
to deftly combine mathematical rigor with models of actual
applications while at the same time emphasizing the strengths
and weaknesses of various methods. He made a point of
stressing the elegance and utility of canonic problems; he clearly
presented the latest state-of-the-art techniques and indicated
the principal as-yet-unsolved problems. Most importantly, his
course assignments were actually mini-projects whose basic
aspect and treatment often served as a prelude to M.s. and
Ph.d. dissertations. Needless to say, those courses turned out
to be an inspirational source to many of his students, as well as
to colleagues with interest in wave phenomena.
Perhaps most impressive was leo’s heroic achievement
in living a full and productive life after being stricken by his
unforgiving and progressive muscular illness. He did not
just stoically accept a debilitating situation, but he adroitly
accommodated his daily activities and scientific pursuits so as
to continue taking full advantage of his brilliant intellectual
capacity. it is simply amazing that he was able to continue until
his death a distinguished professional career, both working on
his own and in collaboration with many others. By adding to
this a piquant humor and charming his friends with insightful
verses that he composed for many odd occasions, leo was
an inspiration to all his professional peers as well as to his
younger colleagues.
a few of leo’s additional sides: in his earlier years, he was
an avid hiker, and remained a lover of nature, and especially
the mountains, throughout his life. He was a true humanist;
he appreciated and respected the many cultures found around
the globe and knew that he was fortunate to have had the
opportunity to experience so many of them firsthand, through
his wide professional travels and his diverse relationships with
students and colleagues. He very much enjoyed following the
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exploits of his three growing grandsons, just as he relished
offering the obligatory sage advice from “grumpy gramps.”
and there were few family events at which he didn’t offer a
topical poem or limeric—sometimes gently gibing, but just as
often wittily self-mocking—to liven up the festivities.
indeed, even though english was not his native tongue, he
became a real admirer and master of the language. His prose
was elegant, but his poetry—whether on scientific themes or
philosophical musings or family matters—was his pastime
and his real pride and joy. For years he authored the “Poet’s
corner” in the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine,
penning rhymes about waves and computers and conferences
and the comradeship of colleagues. for a symposium luncheon
honoring his birthday in 1990, he wrote about himself:
You’ve been a gadfly through critique
With questions often sharp, direct.
While this may not engender love
With those who’ve worked up close with you,
Heated debates have spurred the quest
To find the route that formulates
a controversial issue best.
and as you inch along that path,
your sparring can become intense.
yet close encounters of this kind
Have transformed colleagues into friends.
in his later years, as his body became increasingly feeble,
his mind remained sharp, engaged, and intrigued by life’s
mysteries. He appreciated each day, but also was well aware
of his mortality, and was moved to comment on it from time to
time. The following poem, written a few years before his death
at 81, provides a small window into how he contemplated his
passing from the stage:
