Died December 7, 2010,Boston, Massachusetts
College: Branford
Widow: Mrs. Elizabeth Rogoff
P.O. Box 2973
Framingham, MA 01703-2973
508-879-5662
g.rogoff@ieee.org
BOB BUDNITZ writes: My Yale roommate GERRY ROGOFF died on December 7, 2010. We had a lot in common: both of us majored in physics, both went to the Boston area for graduate school (Gerry to MIT, myself to Harvard), we both earned physics Ph.Ds, and our wives had been roommates at Simmons! (We joked for years about how we had switched roommates, which was true enough.) I was the best man at his wedding in 1962. He is survived by his wife Betsy, a counseling psychologist. She continues to live in Framingham MA. Gerry had quite a distinguished physics career, working first for Westinghouse and then for Sylvania on plasma-discharge physics, an important field with many industrial applications in which he made some major contributions and became nationally prominent. He was the sweetest, gentlest, most considerate, nicest guy I’ve known.
Gerry died on December 8, 2010. He matriculated at Yale from Hillhouse High School in New Haven. We became fast friends during our freshman year and roomed together thereafter. We had a lot in common: Both of us were Jewish; both of us majored in physics; both went to Cambridge MA for graduate school (Gerry to MIT, I to Harvard); we both earned physics Ph.Ds; and crucially, our wives had been roommates at Simmons! (We joked for years about how we had switched roommates, which was true enough. My future wife Barbara introduced them.) Elizabeth (”Betsy”), who is a Ph.D. psychologist by profession, survives. I was the best man at their wedding in 1962. Betsy continues to live in Framingham MA. Gerry was a passionate and accomplished photographer when I first met him, and became a staff photographer for the YALE BANNER (our yearbook).
Gerry had quite a distinguished physics career, working first for Westinghouse (in Pittsburgh PA) and then for GTE and Sylvania (near Boston) on plasma-discharge physics, an important field with many industrial applications in which he made major contributions to advanced lighting technology and became nationally prominent. He became a leader in the American Physical Society’s special section on that subject, ran important conferences and gave important papers that advanced his field. As a fellow physicist, I guess I appreciated his work more than most of his other friends, and it was mutual. It was always nice to “talk physics” when we met over the years, although frankly it sometimes would bore our wives to tears. He was also a private pilot, something he took up in middle age.
Most importantly, Gerry Rogoff was the sweetest, gentlest, most considerate, nicest guy I’ve known.
—by Bob Budnitz
Obituary:
ROGOFF, Dr Gerald L. Of Framingham, MA, 71, died Wed., Dec. 8 in Framingham. He was the son of the late Samuel and Diana (Olderman) Rogoff. Devoted husband to Elizabeth (Preston) Rogoff of Framingham, Loving brother to Myrna Zoll of NY, NY. and uncle to Amy Zoll of Philadelphia PA, and David Zoll of Albany, NY. Dr Rogoff earned a PhD at MIT in Physics and was a physicist and researcher for Westinghouse Research Labs in Pittsburgh, PA and for GTE in Waltham, MA and later Osram Sylvania in Danvers, MA where he retired with 30 years of research in the lighting industry. His last position was a visiting scientist at MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center in Cambridge. Dr. Rogoff was a member of IEEE; American Physical Society; and AOPA as a private pilot. At the request of his family no services will be held. In Lieu of flowers Mrs. Rogoff has made a special request for all to donate blood to your local medical facility or make a contribution in memory of Dr. Rogoff to Dana Farber or NPR (National Public Radio). Wadsworth-Chiappini Funeral Home 508-875-8541
Published in The Boston Globe on December12. 2010