Our esteemed colleague, Dr. John R. Klauder, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, passed away on October 24, 2024, in Briarcliff Manor, NY. He leaves behind a profound legacy in mathematics and physics. Dr. Klauder joined the University of Florida’s Departments of Mathematics and Physics in 1988, and from 2006 until his retirement in 2010, served as a Distinguished Professor. He remained closely connected to UF as a Distinguished Emeritus Professor, visiting the Institute for Fundamental Theory as recently as last year to share his pioneering work in quantum gravity.
Dr. Klauder’s career left an indelible mark on the scientific landscape. After earning his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1959, he developed the concept of “coherent states,” creating a groundbreaking bridge between classical and quantum physics that laid the foundation for advances in quantum optics, Feynman path integrals and wavelet theory. He spent over three decades at AT&T Bell Labs, where he led the Theoretical Physics and Solid State Spectroscopy departments and played a pivotal role in radar innovation, including the development of “chirp pulse compression,” a method still widely used in modern radar and sonar systems.
Over the course of his distinguished career, Dr. Klauder authored nearly 300 papers and several influential monographs, with contributions spanning quantum mechanics, general relativity, optics and high-energy physics. His recent work on “affine quantization” tackled some of the most difficult challenges in theoretical physics, including quantum effects near black holes and the quantization of Einstein’s theory of gravity. He received numerous honors, including induction as a Foreign Member of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters and the prestigious Onsager Medal in 2006. He served the scientific community in many roles, including as a member of the NSF Physics Advisory Panel, Editor of the Journal of Mathematical Physics, President of the International Association of Mathematical Physics and Associate Secretary-General of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics.
Dr. Klauder was not only a brilliant researcher but also a beloved educator. Generations of undergraduate and graduate students praised him as an exceptional teacher and mentor. His passion for classical music was well known—he occasionally conducted small orchestras, sharing his love for music with the same warmth and enthusiasm he brought to science.
An avid traveler, Dr. Klauder visited over 70 countries across six continents and always had a story to tell. He will be deeply missed by all of us at UF and by the global scientific community.