On May 24th and 25th, over 150 people, including 4 Nobel laureates, gathered at the Bossone Research Center on the campus of Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pa, to celebrate the life of Lorenzo M. Narducci, who passed away in July of 2006. The symposium was timed to coincide with his 65th birthday, and the occasion was marked by presentations from 21 prominent scientists, and a keynote address from long time friend and colleague Prof. Emil Wolf.
Lorenzo received his Laurea from the University of Milan in 1964, under the direction of Piero Caldirola, where he submitted his thesis entitled Optical coherence theory in quantum electrodynamics . In 1965 he won a faculty position at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and went back to Italy to tell his bride he was moving her and his newborn son to the United States. In 1976 he moved his wife and three children to Philadelphia, Pa. to take a position in the physics department at Drexel University. He became a full professor in 1979, and in 1987, he became the first Francis K. Davis Professor of Physics, which he held until his death. In his research, Lorenzo was driven by an inexhaustible and exciting enthusiasm for physics. Let us try to describe a few highlights from his vast scientific production.
His theoretical work was indeed capable of inspiring several outstanding experiments. From the late seventies to the late eighties, he studied mainly the dynamics of non-linear optical systems, in collaboration with one of us (LL). He demonstrated that optics is an ideal ground for the analysis of unstable and chaotic phenomena, of temporal as well as spatial pattern formation. A fundamental experiment of Jeff Kimble and collaborators, suggested by Lorenzo's work, demonstrated not only a paradigmatic bistable behavior, but also the appearance of spontaneous oscillations. Somewhat later, experiments by Jorge Tredicce and his group demonstrated the predicted phase instability and the cooperative frequency locking behavior in multi-longitudinal mode and multi-transverse mode lasers, respectively.
In the late eighties, he started working on spontaneous emission and resonance fluorescence in three-level atoms, in collaboration with one of us (MOS). By using the regression theorem in the description of resonance fluorescence in three-level atoms, Narducci showed that it is possible to observe spontaneous emission from a driven three-level atom with a linewidth which is significantly different from the natural linewidth, even in empty space and not only when the excited atom decays within the enclosure of a resonator. In particular, the linewidth may even be made narrower than the natural linewidth. This work stimulated Mossberg and collaborators to carry out a beautiful experiment confirming Lorenzo's predictions. They say about Narducci's work: This prediction is intriguing because it opens up to researchers a new class of systems in which quantum fluctuations can be manipulated and the effects directly observed.
The same enthusiasm and professionalism, which characterized Lorenzo's research, affected his lecturing and teacher activity. He was a brilliant lecturer, capable of fascinating his audience. It is really enjoyable reading the constantly and emphatically positive comments of students about Lorenzo. They consistently paint a picture of the man as a professor that was firm and tough, but also fair and kind, with a gift for making even the most complex easy to understand. He was also very active in the editorial process. In 1986 he was appointed Associate Editor for Optics Communications and became Editor in 1987. He became an Associate Editor of Physical Review A in December of 1990 and remained editor for both Optics Communications and Physical Review A until his passing away. Lorenzo was a very generous man, especially in recognizing enthusiastically the excellence of scientific achievements attained by others and in helping them to receive the deserved recognitions. He often served as a sponsor of and on the committee to select the Michelson Medal of the Franklin Institute.
In his extremely long fight against his illness, Lorenzo demonstrated an incredible courage and an inexhaustible energy. The latest period of his life brought him to an extremely high level of pain, but he continued devoting hours of his day to carefully prepare fresh lesson plans rather than rehash them from years past, still giving his students everything he had just as he did during his entire career.
Lorenzo will be remembered by his family, students, colleagues and friends around the world as an energetic and passionate researcher, teacher and editor who was devoted to the advancement of physics and he will be sorely missed by everybody.
