Physics Professor Lawrence Evans Passes Away
Evans spent nearly four decades as a member of the Duke faculty before retiring in 2000.
Duke Professor Emeritus of Physics Lawrence Evans passed away on Sunday, May 25, at the age of 92.
A long-standing member of the Duke University family, Evans joined the faculty in 1963 as an assistant professor and would spend the next 27 years as an active member of the Physics Department, including serving as chair from 1987 to 1997. He was deeply involved in the university community more broadly and was a leader who helped shape faculty governance at the university. Evans continued to be engaged with the department, faculty and students after his retirement in 2000 as a valued member of the Duke community.
Former colleague Al Goshaw, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Physics, said Evans was “a true ‘renaissance man’ with many contributions to the Physics Department, Duke University and society in general. He will be missed both as a colleague and a friend.”
As a physicist, Evans’s research interests centered on quantum field theory, especially quantum electrodynamics (QED). He authored or co-authored papers on the formal structure of QED and later turned to applications of QED in particle physics and other topics in that area. The courses he taught at Duke ranged from Physics for Poets to Advanced Quantum Theory. Across five decades, he was a fixture during Duke’s summer session, teaching introductory physics to thousands of students.
“He was one of the brightest people I knew in the Physics Department, with a sharp wit and very outspoken in his opinions about physics, the University and whatever else was going on in the broader world,” Goshaw said. “He was also an excellent, no-nonsense teacher who, although demanding of his students, was appreciated for the clarity of his lectures.”
During his time as chair, Evans guided the department through a period of growth and recognition, among other things overseeing the establishment of the free-electron laser laboratory. Evans was chair when Berndt Mueller, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Physics, joined Duke in 1990, and Mueller said he would not have come to Duke had it not been for Evans and a few other members of the department.
“Larry gave me confidence that the department was in good hands, and he introduced me to the many wrinkles of the American university system and its special incarnation at Duke during my early years here,” Mueller said.
Mueller followed Evans as department chair, and Mueller said Evans played a valuable role during a turbulent time for the department’s free-electron laser laboratory. “During that time, Larry stood firmly for the principles that define research at Duke and stood up for the rights of junior scientists and staff,” Mueller said. “I learned a lot from him.”
Evans’s service to Duke extended beyond teaching, research and mentorship and he was known for his foundational work in faculty governance. He chaired the committee that initiated creation of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and of its representative undergraduate council, the precursor of the Arts and Sciences Council. He was influential in establishing the role of the faculty, through the Academic Council, in decision-making by the university. “He was a great university citizen,” Mueller said, “and actively participated in the creation of principles that undergird the current structure of faculty governance at Duke.”
Evans chaired the Council at a time when the university was responding to financial stresses and he chaired important ad hoc committees on various topics, such as the size of the total undergraduate enrollment. In retirement, he edited the monthly “Faculty Forum” newsletter.
Beyond physics, Evans had a passion for music. He became well known as a violinist and violist in the Triangle area, playing in orchestras, for musical shows and operas, and in chamber music groups. He had a leadership role for 25 years in the Chapel Hill Philharmonia.
Evans is survived by his daughter, Anne Trotter (Rob) of Gainesville, Georgia, and their sons Adam and Evan; and by his son Brian Caswallon Evans (Theresa Harris) of Silver Spring, Maryland. He is also survived by his long-time partner, Dietlinde Wittmann of Durham, North Carolina.
Read Evans’s full obituary for more details about his life and legacy.
