Charles R. Willis

Professor Emeritus of Physics

Chuck Willis 91, of Newton Highlands, MA, died of pancreatic cancer on August 17th. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Constance (Schnell) “Connie,” and his two daughters, Laura Willis and Linda Mooers. He is also survived by nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, and their spouses. Chuck is predeceased by his sisters, Audrey Gilbert and Katherine Garlach; by his brother-in-law, George Garlach; and by his niece Pamela Garlach Johnson.

Chuck was born in Watertown, NY, the son of the late John and Helen (Dagenais) Willis. After graduating from high school, he served in the army medical corps and then attended Syracuse University, where in 1952 he earned a BA in physics, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. He studied physics under professor Peter Bergmann at Syracuse University and received his PhD in 1957. That same year, Chuck was offered an assistant professorship at Boston University. He stayed at Boston University for 42 years, becoming full professor in 1968 and professor emeritus in 1999. He continued to work and publish through 2004.

Chuck made numerous valuable and pioneering contributions in many areas of theoretical physics. His highly cited work spans laser physics, quantum optics, statistical mechanics, surface physics and nonlinear physics. He supervised the PhD research of many students and mentored some postdoctoral fellows, several of whom are now leading physicists at prominent universities and laboratories. One of Chuck’s joys was talking physics with students and other physicists, he was always available to others.

In the early 1990s, Chuck’s work attracted Sergej Flach, who came to work with Chuck as a postdoctoral fellow with a German research fellowship. The years 1993 to 1998 were marked by a series of joint publications culminating in 1998 in a Physics Reports review work on discrete breathers that received more than 1,400 citations (top 1% of publication citations, Google scholar).

Chuck spent sabbaticals at the Institute of Theoretical Physics in Utrecht, Holland and in Italy at the University of Perugia. He was a Professor Invité at the University de Bourgogne, in France, and he had a summer research award at the University of Dijon, France. Chuck was a University Resident Research Fellow AFOSR and later had USAF Summer Faculty Fellowships, which resulted in a patent being issued to him and four other inventors.

Chuck loved classical music, being physically active and the outdoors. He began running before running was popular. During the summer months he biked and swam daily in nearby Crystal Lake. Later in life, he enjoyed meeting his neighbors and their dogs on his walks. When his daughters were young, the family would visit the mountains of New England to hike so that Chuck could share his love of nature with them. Chuck and the family traveled throughout Europe, Central America and the American West, and this continued until he was 88.

The Celebration of Life will be held at the Newton Cemetery Chapel, 791 Walnut St., Newton Center at 11:30 am Wednesday, August 28, followed by the burial. A reception and calling hours will follow at Paddy’s, 95 Elm St., West Newton until 5:30pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society or the Salvation Army. Arrangements by Anderson-Bryant Funeral Home of Stoneham.