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| George at the 2003 Valentine party
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DH |
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Our friend George Pake passed away on March 4, 2004. He was a wise and simple man with a wonderful sense of humor. We shall miss George greatly.
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| George at the 2003 Valentine party
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DH |
George's long career encompassed three different stages. First he was a physicist who got a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1948 under Ed Purcell, and proceded to make a name for himself by working on nuclear magnetic resonance, especially of solids, and paramagnetic resonance of free radicals. He discovered and described the Pake doublet, a characteristic line shape seen in the NMR spectra of solids. Second he was a university administrator, becoming provost of Washington University in Saint Louis. Finally he was the founding director of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. Few people realize that this unassuming man was actually a major figure in the history of the computer. It was under his direction that many of the most important features of modern computing were developed at Xerox PARC, including the windows-and-mouse system (known in the trade as the Graphical User Interface) used in all computers today, Ethernet, and the laser printer, among others.
The following photographs of George at various ages are from the American Institute of Physics archives. At one point George was president of the American Physical Society. And since 1984 the APS has awarded a yearly prize called the George E. Pake Prize, endowed by Xerox and worth $5000.
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Here is the New York Times obituary with a great picture from Washington University :
NEW YORK TIMES - March 11, 2004
By JOHN MARKOFF
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George E. Pake, a physicist who assembled a team of extraordinary computer researchers while serving as the first director of the Palo Alto Research Center of the Xerox Corporation, died last Thursday at his home in Tucson. He was 79.
The cause was multiple system failure, said his daughter, Catherine Pake.
In the late 1960's, Xerox, then the dominant manufacturer of office copiers, was searching for ways to move into new markets when the company's chief scientist, Jacob E. Goldman, proposed an open-ended research laboratory to explore what C. Peter McColough, chief executive at the time, called "the architecture of information."
In 1970, Dr. Goldman recruited his friend and former colleague Dr. Pake, who was then executive vice chancellor, provost and professor of physics at Washington University in St. Louis, to become the laboratory's first director.
It was Dr. Pake who in turn persuaded the company, based in Stamford, Conn., to establish the laboratory far from corporate headquarters: in Palo Alto, Calif., on the edge of the Stanford campus. It was named the Palo Alto Research Center, or PARC.
In that job, Dr. Pake began exploring the new field of computer science. He hired Robert Taylor, a research project manager with experience at both the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Pentagon's Advanced Research Projects Agency. Mr. Taylor brought a remarkable group of researchers to the laboratory, helping PARC recruit them from the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, the Berkeley Computer Corporation, Douglas Engelbart's Augmentation Research Laboratory at the Stanford Research Institute and elsewhere around the country.
In the decade after the laboratory's founding, its researchers made a series of advances that would ultimately reshape the modern computer industry. PARC scientists and engineers invented a range of computing technologies, including the laser printer, office networking and the graphical user interface. The researchers assembled them into a vision of the office of the future that was successfully commercialized by companies like Apple Computer and Microsoft.
Much has been made of the question of whether Xerox then "fumbled the future" by failing to become a leader in the personal computing industry, though it did capitalize on laser printing technology in particular, which more than justified its investment in PARC.
Because of Xerox's strong financial position, the laboratory's first half-decade was a halcyon period for it. But as the company encountered growing competition in the copier business, bitter battles developed within PARC over how resources should be allocated to support which research projects.
"Pake had to balance all of the resources," said Michael Hiltzik, author of "Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age." "Pake had to deal with the higher-ups" while ensuring his researchers their freedom.
Dr. Pake left PARC in 1978, when he became Xerox's vice president for research. He held that job until 1986, then became director of the Institute for Research on Learning in Palo Alto.
George Pake was born in Jeffersonville, Ohio, and studied mechanical engineering before receiving bachelor's and master's degrees in physics from the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He then attended Harvard University, where he received a Ph.D. in physics in 1948.
In his first year as a faculty member, at Washington University, he published a seminal article on nuclear magnetic resonance. It became a cornerstone for research that led to what is now a widely used medical tool: modern magnetic resonance imaging, or M.R.I.
In 1952, at age 28, he became chairman of the Washington University physics department. He moved to Stanford in 1956, where he taught physics for six years before returning to Washington University as provost.
In 1987, he received the National Medal of Science from President Ronald Reagan. He also served on the President's Science Advisory Committee under both Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon.
In addition to his daughter, Catherine, of Portland, Ore., Dr. Pake is survived by his wife, Marjorie Pake of Tucson; three sons, Warren, of Tucson, Stephen, of Los Angeles, and Bruce, of St. Louis; and two grandchildren.
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All remaining pictures are from PARC.
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Obituary from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch :
As the top academic officer at Washington University in the 1960s, George E. Pake envisioned a university that would lead a city and shine in the fields of medicine and science - and then he went about trying to make that vision a reality.
"Washington University is the key to the future of this metropolitan area," Professor Pake told a crowd here in 1962. "These are not the times - nor is St. Louis the place - for thinking little."
University provost for roughly a decade, Professor Pake helped bring the school to the forefront of academic research by effective recruitment and steady leadership.
Professor Pake, a recipient of the National Medal of Science, died of heart failure Thursday (March 4, 2004) in Tuscon, Ariz. He was 79.
Professor Pake's 1948 paper on nuclear magnetic resonance, his first published science publication, appeared in his first year as a professor at the school. The paper became a classic, helping lay the scientific foundation for NMR, now known as magnetic resonance imaging and used in hospitals worldwide.
"George Pake was not only a major influence on Washington University's academic strengths, he was also a national leader in science and research," said the university's Chancellor Mark Wrighton in a press release.
As provost between 1962 and 1970, his achievements at the university included helping modernize the school of engineering and winning key federal grants to build science facilities. His recruits to the university included Peter Raven, now the director of Missouri Botanical Garden and a botany professor, and Howard Nemerov, an English professor and poet laureate who died in 1991.
In 1970, Professor Pake moved to Palo Alto, Calif., to found the Palo Alto Research Center of Xerox. That institution went on to lay the groundwork for the modern Silicon Valley, spawning ideas such as the first personal computer and the laser printer.
President Ronald Reagan recognized Professor Pake's remarkable career in 1987 by presenting him with the National Medal of Science.
However, few in the university community who knew him later in life were aware of the honor, said Fred Volkmann, the university's vice chancellor for public affairs.
"He was an extremely modest person," Volkmann said in an interview.
From 1970 until 1987, Professor Pake served as a trustee of the university.
Professor Pake received his bachelor of science and master of science degrees from the Carnegie Institute of Technology and his doctorate in physics from Harvard University in 1948. After four years as a physics professor at Washington University, he was named head of the department at the age of 28.
The family is planning a private service in the coming weeks and Washington University plans to announce a memorial service in St. Louis.
Professor Pake is survived by his wife, Marjorie Pake of Tucson, Ariz.; three sons, Warren Pake of Tucson, Stephen Pake of Los Angeles and Bruce Pake of St. Louis; a daughter Catherine Pake of Portland, Ore.; and two grandchildren.
Memorial contributions, which will provide undergraduate scholarships, should be so identified and mailed to Campus Box 1082, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo. 63130. Checks should be made out to Washington University.
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A few other reactions :
"George to me was a giant amongst giants. He was not only a phenomenal intellect and scientist, he was also a gentleman." (John Seely Brown, a former director of PARC)
"He was a very distinguished person. He was knowledgeable and very unassuming," said Henry Koffler, president emeritus of the University of Arizona and founder of the Arizona Senior Academy, the nonprofit group tied to Academy Village. Koffler said Pake served as an adviser to Academy Village and was personally helpful to him in developing programs for the academy. After moving to Tucson in April 2001, Pake renewed his interest in playing the French horn, which he had played when he was young, Koffler said. (Arizona Daily Star)
"Pake built a grass roots culture of innovation that has endured at PARC for more than three decades and became a model for the industry. He instilled in the institution a deep and abiding belief in the importance of science and a respect for the impact of technology, on individuals and on the world. We will miss him, but his influence will be felt for generations." (Mark Bernstein, PARC's present president and director)
"George Pake was an extraordinary person, a compelling leader; above all he understood research and researchers and was committed to create the space in which they would succeed. He was extremely successful in his approach. His impact and contributions to Xerox and PARC put him right at the top, with other great Xerox scientists like John Dessauer, as people who have a vision, go for it and achieve it only to set up the next goals. His influence on the management of research in the US has also been considerable. He will long be remembered." (Herve Gallaire , Xerox Innovation Group, and Chief Technology Officer, Xerox Corp)
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Finally, from PARC itself :
Dr. George E. Pake, the founder of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, passed away on March 4, 2004 after a prolonged illness. The world lost a preeminent research leader, an accomplished scientist, and an extraordinary human being.
Dr. Pake is best known for leading the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) from its inception in 1970 until 1978 and overseeing Xerox Corporate Research from 1978-1986. He was responsible for fashioning an institution whose unique and enduring culture spawned such innovations as laser printing, Ethernet, the graphical user interface, client-server architecture and many of the ideas that define modern computing.
In a 1985 IEEE Spectrum article, Dr. Pake examined the factors that had made PARC successful -- hiring the best and most creative researchers, emulating the environment found at the best universities, allowing researchers the opportunity to initiate and recommend areas of inquiry and tuning research direction through “selective budgetary preferences.” Indeed, his progressive management style came to be a model for industrial research and has, in the past decade, been adopted more broadly within general corporate management. In his own words:
“Little success is likely to come from showing researchers to a laboratory, describing in detail a desired technology or process not now existent, and commanding: ‘Invent!’ The enterprise will go better if some overall goals or needs are generally described and understood and if proposals for research are solicited from the creative professionals. Managing the research then consists of adjusting the budgets for the programs to give selective encouragement.”
President Ronald Reagan awarded Dr. Pake the National Medal of Science in 1987 for “his commitment to creative excellence in support of institutional purpose.” In 1983, the American Physical Society, for which Pake was President (1977) and Vice-President (1976) established the George E. Pake Prize, an award to recognize and encourage outstanding work by physicists combining original research accomplishments with leadership in management of research or development in industry. In the same year, he was honored with the Search Award of the Eliot Society, Washington University in St. Louis.
After retiring from Xerox Corporation in 1986, Dr. Pake founded the Institute for Research on Learning, with backing from Xerox Corporation. The Institute viewed learning as a fundamentally social activity. Here, his projects were about making science and mathematics a positive, hands-on learning experience between teachers and students.
Between 1948 and 1967, Dr. Pake served in university posts with Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri and Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. He was executive vice chancellor and provost, and professor of physics at Washington University from 1967-1969. In 1969, the university named him Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor of physics. During this period, he was appointed to President Johnson’s Science Advisory Committee, on which he served during both the Johnson and Nixon administrations.
Dr. Pake received a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie-Mellon University) in 1945 and his PhD from Harvard University in 1948. Over his career, he was recognized with honorary degrees from the University of Missouri at Rolla, Carnegie Institute of Technology and Kent State University.
His doctoral thesis focused on a phenomenon involving the magnetic interaction of two closely spaced nuclear magnets, a theory that later became known as “Pake doublets.” His research on nuclear magnetic resonance physics in the 1940s helped others later develop magnetic resonance imaging, an important non-invasive imaging technique used by the medical profession. He was author or co-author of three books and published more than 50 papers.
Dr. Pake was born in Jeffersonville, Ohio in 1924 and is survived by his wife and four children.
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