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| children = 3, including [[Joan Baez]] and [[Mimi Fariña]]
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'''Albert Vinicio Báez''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|aɪ|.|ɛ|z}}; November 15, 1912 &ndash; March 20, 2007) was a Mexican-American [[physicist]] and the father of singers [[Joan Baez]] and [[Mimi Fariña]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/obituaries/27baez.html|title=Albert Baez, 94, Scientist and Singers' Father, Dies|date=2007-03-27|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-03-11|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and an uncle of [[John C. Baez]]. He made important contributions to the early development of [[X-ray microscope]]s and later [[X-ray telescope]]s.<ref name="Dias">{{Cite web|url=http://pawley.blogalia.com/historias/23214|title=días estranhos|website=pawley.blogalia.com|access-date=2020-03-11}}</ref><ref name=MarinIJ>{{cite news |url=http://www.marinij.com/fastsearchresults/ci_5484248 |last=Liberatore |first=Paul |title=Noted scientist was father of Joan Baez and Mimi Farina |work=Marin Independent Journal |date=March 20, 2007}}</ref>
'''Albert Vinicio Báez''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|aɪ|.|ɛ|z}} {{respell|BY|ez}},{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} {{IPA|es|biˈnisjo ˈβaes|lang}}; November 15, 1912 &ndash; March 20, 2007) was a Mexican-American [[physicist]] and the father of singers [[Joan Baez]] and [[Mimi Fariña]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/obituaries/27baez.html|title=Albert Baez, 94, Scientist and Singers' Father, Dies|date=2007-03-27|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-03-11|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and an uncle of [[John C. Baez]]. He made important contributions to the early development of [[X-ray microscope]]s, [[X-ray optics]], and later [[X-ray telescope]]s.<ref name="Dias">{{Cite web|url=http://pawley.blogalia.com/historias/23214|title=días estranhos|website=pawley.blogalia.com|access-date=2020-03-11}}</ref><ref name=MarinIJ>{{cite news |url=http://www.marinij.com/fastsearchresults/ci_5484248 |last=Liberatore |first=Paul |title=Noted scientist was father of Joan Baez and Mimi Farina |work=Marin Independent Journal |date=March 20, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hispanic Heritage Profile: Albert Baez |url=https://www.craftonhills.edu/features/hispanic-heritage-month-2014/hispanic-heritage-profiles/albert-baez.php |access-date=2023-06-08 |website=www.craftonhills.edu}}</ref>


==Early life==
==Early life==
Albert Báez was born in Puebla, Mexico in 1912 to Alerto B. Báez and Thalia Báez<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Notable Twentieth-Century Scientists |publisher=Gale Research Inc. |year=1995 |isbn=0-8103-9182-1 |editor-last=McMurray |editor-first=Emily J. |volume=I |pages=91–92}}</ref>'''.''' His father was a [[Methodism|Methodist]] minister and his mother was a social worker for the [[YWCA]].<ref name=":1" /> Albert was four when his father moved his family to the United States, first to Texas for a year and then to New York City. Albert, his sister Mimi and brother Peter were raised in [[Brooklyn]] where his father founded the First Spanish Methodist Church. [[New York City|New York]].<ref name=":0" /> During his youth, Baez contemplated becoming a minister, but he followed his interests in mathematics and physics instead.<ref name="CraftonHills" />
Albert Báez was born in [[Puebla (city)|Puebla]], Mexico, in 1912 to Alberto B. Báez and Thalia Báez.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Notable Twentieth-Century Scientists |publisher=Gale Research Inc. |year=1995 |isbn=0-8103-9182-1 |editor-last=McMurray |editor-first=Emily J. |volume=I |pages=91–92}}</ref> His father was a [[Methodist]] minister and his mother was a social worker for the [[YWCA]].<ref name=":1" /> Albert was four when his father moved his family to the United States, first to Texas for a year and then to New York City. Albert, his sister Mimi and brother Peter were raised in [[Brooklyn]] where his father founded the First Spanish Methodist Church in [[New York City|New York]].<ref name=":0" /> During his youth, Baez contemplated becoming a minister, but he followed his interests in mathematics and physics instead.<ref name="CraftonHills" />


Báez earned degrees in mathematics and physics from [[Drew University]] (BS, 1933) and mathematics from [[Syracuse University]] (MS, 1935).<ref>{{cite journal |title=Professional Profile: Albert Baez |last=Mellada |first=Carmelaork=The Hispanic Engineer |date=Spring 1991 |page=23 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B8aoC01DfpkC&pg=PA23 }}</ref><ref name=":1" /> He married Joan Chandos Bridge, the daughter of an [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopalian]] priest, in 1936. The couple became [[Quakers]]. The two had three daughters (Pauline, Joan, and Mimi), then moved to [[California]]: Báez enrolled at [[Stanford University|Stanford's]] [[doctorate|doctoral]] program in physics. In 1948, Báez co-invented, with his doctoral program advisor, [[Paul Kirkpatrick]], the [[X-ray microscope|X-ray reflection microscope]] for examination of living cells.<ref name="NSHP">{{cite web|url=http://www.hispanicphysicists.org/recognition/bio(baez).html|title=National Society of Hispanic Physicists - Albert Baez|publisher=[[National Society of Hispanic Physicists]]|access-date=2020-10-15|archive-date=2020-10-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017111846/http://www.hispanicphysicists.org/recognition/bio(baez).html|url-status=dead}}</ref> This [[microscope]] is still used in [[medicine]]. Baez received his Ph.D. in physics from Stanford in 1950. In 1948, while still a graduate student at Stanford, he developed concentric circles of alternating opaque and transparent materials to use diffraction instead of refraction to focus X-rays.<ref name=":0" /> These [[zone plate]]s proved useful and even essential decades later only with the development of sufficiently bright, high intensity, [[synchrotron]] X-ray sources.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2007/may16/baez-051607.html |title=Memorial service set May 24 for physicist, X-ray optics pioneer Albert Baez |date=May 16, 2007 |publisher=Stanford University News Service |last=Levy |first=Dawn}}</ref>
Báez earned degrees in mathematics and physics from [[Drew University]] (BS, 1933) and mathematics from [[Syracuse University]] (MS, 1935).<ref>{{cite journal |title=Professional Profile: Albert Baez |last=Mellada |first=Carmela|journal=The Hispanic Engineer |date=Spring 1991 |page=23 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B8aoC01DfpkC&pg=PA23 }}</ref><ref name=":1" /> He married Joan Chandos Bridge, the daughter of an [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopalian]] priest, in 1936. The couple became [[Quakers]]. The two had three daughters (Pauline, Joan, and Mimi), then moved to [[California]]: Báez enrolled at [[Stanford University|Stanford's]] [[doctorate|doctoral]] program in physics. Baez taught at [[Wagner College]] from 1940 to 1944, and then moved to [[Stanford University]] in 1944 where he taught undergraduate courses in physics and mathematics.<ref name="PT">{{Cite journal |url=https://pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/article/60/11/75/976084/Albert-Vinicio-Baez |title=Albert Vinicio Baez |access-date=2023-06-08 |journal=Physics Today |year=2007 |doi=10.1063/1.2812133 |last1=Thompson |first1=Al |last2=Castro |first2=George |volume=60 |issue=11 |pages=75–76 |bibcode=2007PhT....60k..75T |doi-access=free }}</ref> In 1948, Báez co-invented, with his doctoral program advisor, [[Paul Kirkpatrick]], the [[X-ray microscope|X-ray reflection microscope]] for examination of living cells.<ref name="NSHP">{{cite web|url=http://www.hispanicphysicists.org/recognition/bio(baez).html|title=National Society of Hispanic Physicists - Albert Baez|publisher=[[National Society of Hispanic Physicists]]|access-date=2020-10-15|archive-date=2020-10-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017111846/http://www.hispanicphysicists.org/recognition/bio(baez).html|url-status=dead}}</ref> This [[microscope]] is still used in [[medicine]]. Baez received his Ph.D. in physics from Stanford in 1950, and wrote his thesis titled "Principles of X-Ray Optics and the Development of a Single State X-Ray Microscope".[https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2812133] In 1948, while still a graduate student at Stanford, he developed concentric circles of alternating opaque and transparent materials to use diffraction instead of refraction to focus X-rays.<ref name=":0" /> These [[zone plate]]s proved useful and even essential decades later only with the development of sufficiently bright, high intensity, [[synchrotron]] X-ray sources.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2007/may16/baez-051607.html |title=Memorial service set May 24 for physicist, X-ray optics pioneer Albert Baez |date=May 16, 2007 |publisher=Stanford University News Service |last=Levy |first=Dawn}}</ref>


==Academic life==
==Academic life==
As the [[Cold War]] intensified in the 1950s, Báez's talent was in high demand in the burgeoning [[arms race]], yet his family's [[pacifism]] moved him to refuse lucrative [[defense industry]] positions, and he devoted himself instead to [[education]] and [[humanitarianism]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20210325051333/http://www.notable/] biographies.com/supp/Supplement-Ca-Fi/Farina-Mimi.html#ixzz3QEENOV4V</ref>
As the [[Cold War]] intensified in the 1950s, Báez's talent was in high demand in the burgeoning [[arms race]], yet his family's [[pacifism]] moved him to refuse lucrative [[defense industry]] positions, and he devoted himself instead to [[education]] and [[humanitarianism]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20210325051333/http://www.notable/] biographies.com/supp/Supplement-Ca-Fi/Farina-Mimi.html#ixzz3QEENOV4V</ref>


From 1950 to 1956, he held a professorship at the [[University of Redlands]], where he continued his X-ray research. Baez took leave for a year to work with [[UNESCO]] in 1951, and stationed his family in [[Baghdad]]<ref name="CraftonHills">{{cite web|url=https://www.craftonhills.edu/features/hispanic-heritage-month-2014/hispanic-heritage-profiles/albert-baez.php|title=Hispanic Heritage Profile: Albert Baez - 1912-2007 - Physicist, Inventor, Author, Humanitarian|publisher=[[Crafton Hills College]]|access-date=2020-10-15}}</ref> to establish the physics department and laboratory at [[Baghdad University]]. In 1959, Baez accepted a faculty position at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] and moved his family to the [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] area. Baez worked on physics education with the [[Physical Science Study Committee]], in particular, focused on producing films.<ref name="NSHP" /> In 1960, working with the [[Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory]] in [[Cambridge, MA|Cambridge]], he developed optics for an X-ray telescope. Later that year he moved his family to [[Claremont, California]], where he joined the faculty at [[Harvey Mudd College]]. From 1961 to 1967, he served as the first director of the science education program for UNESCO in Paris.<ref name="CraftonHills" /><ref name="NSHP" />
From 1950 to 1956, he held a professorship at the [[University of Redlands]], where he continued his X-ray research. Baez took leave for a year to work with [[UNESCO]] in 1951, and stationed his family in [[Baghdad]]<ref name="CraftonHills">{{cite web|url=https://www.craftonhills.edu/features/hispanic-heritage-month-2014/hispanic-heritage-profiles/albert-baez.php|title=Hispanic Heritage Profile: Albert Baez - 1912-2007 - Physicist, Inventor, Author, Humanitarian|publisher=[[Crafton Hills College]]|access-date=2020-10-15}}</ref> to establish the physics department and laboratory at [[Baghdad University]]. In 1956, Baez returned to Stanford and began to work with [[Jerrold R. Zacharias]]. Together, they worked on the Physics Science Study Committee, which was an effort to reshape the way physics was taught in high schools.<ref name="PT"/> In 1959, Baez accepted a faculty position at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] and moved his family to the [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] area. Baez worked on physics education with the [[Physical Science Study Committee]], in particular, focused on producing films.<ref name="NSHP" /> In 1960, working with the [[Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory]] in [[Cambridge, MA|Cambridge]], he developed optics for an X-ray telescope. Later that year he moved his family to [[Claremont, California]], where he joined the faculty at [[Harvey Mudd College]]. From 1961 to 1967, he served as the first director of the science education program for UNESCO in Paris.<ref name="CraftonHills" /><ref name="NSHP" /> Here, he helped to develop projects in the basic sciences in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Arab states.<ref name="PT"/>


Baez was the author of the textbook ''The New College Physics: A Spiral Approach'' (1967). He was the co-author of the textbook ''The Environment and Science and Technology Education'' (1987), and the memoir, ''A Year in Baghdad'' (1988), written with his wife Joan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.danielpublishing.com/jdbacklist02.htm|title=John Daniel & Company - Backlist Books|access-date=2020-10-15|archive-date=2021-01-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115144055/http://www.danielpublishing.com/jdbacklist02.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Baez was the author of the textbook ''The New College Physics: A Spiral Approach'' (1967). He was the co-author of the textbook ''The Environment and Science and Technology Education'' (1987), and the memoir, ''A Year in Baghdad'' (1988), written with his wife Joan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.danielpublishing.com/jdbacklist02.htm|title=John Daniel & Company - Backlist Books|access-date=2020-10-15|archive-date=2021-01-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115144055/http://www.danielpublishing.com/jdbacklist02.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Báez made nearly a hundred films on physics from 1967 to 1974 for the [[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Educational Corp. Báez chaired the Commission on Education of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources from 1979 to 1983.<ref name=":1" />
Báez made nearly a hundred films on physics from 1967 to 1974 for the [[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Educational Corp. Báez chaired the Commission on Education of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources from 1979 to 1983.<ref name=":1" />


On 22 June 1974, the British [[Open University]] awarded Baez an [[honorary degree]] as Doctor of the University.<ref>{{cite web|title=Honorary Degrees Awarded |url=http://www.open.ac.uk/students/ceremonies/files/ceremonies/Honorary%20graduate%20cumulative%20list(1).pdf |publisher=The Open University |access-date=5 September 2015 |page=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924093747/http://www.open.ac.uk/students/ceremonies/files/ceremonies/Honorary%20graduate%20cumulative%20list%281%29.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2015 }}</ref>
On 22 June 1974, Britain's [[Open University]] awarded Baez an [[honorary degree]] as Doctor of the university.<ref>{{cite web|title=Honorary Degrees Awarded |url=http://www.open.ac.uk/students/ceremonies/files/ceremonies/Honorary%20graduate%20cumulative%20list(1).pdf |publisher=The Open University |access-date=5 September 2015 |page=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924093747/http://www.open.ac.uk/students/ceremonies/files/ceremonies/Honorary%20graduate%20cumulative%20list%281%29.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2015 }}</ref>


==Retirement==
==Retirement==
After his retirement, Báez occasionally delivered physics lectures and was the president of [[Vivamos Mejor]]/USA in 1986,<ref name=":1" /> an organization founded in 1988 to help impoverished villages in Mexico. Its projects include [[preschool education]], [[Environmentalism|environmental]] projects, and community and educational activities. In 1991, the [[International Society for Optical Engineering]] awarded him and Kirkpatrick the [[Dennis Gabor Award]] for pioneering contributions to the development of X-ray imaging microscopes and X-ray imaging telescopes. In 1995, the [[Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation]] (HENAAC) established the Albert V. Baez Award for Technical Excellence and Service to Humanity. Báez himself was inducted into the HENAAC Hall of Fame in 1998.
After his retirement, Báez occasionally delivered physics lectures and was the president of [[Vivamos Mejor]]/USA in 1986,<ref name=":1" /> an organization founded in 1988 to help impoverished villages in Mexico. Its projects include [[preschool education]], [[Environmentalism|environmental]] projects, and community and educational activities. His lectures often included the "importance of the 3 Cs- curiosity, creativity, and compassion."<ref name="PT"/> In 1991, the [[International Society for Optical Engineering]] awarded him and Kirkpatrick the [[Dennis Gabor Award]] for pioneering contributions to the development of X-ray imaging microscopes and X-ray imaging telescopes. In 1995, the [[Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation]] (HENAAC) established the Albert V. Baez Award for Technical Excellence and Service to Humanity. Báez himself was inducted into the HENAAC Hall of Fame in 1998.


Báez was the father of folk singers [[Joan Baez]] and [[Mimi Fariña]], and of Pauline Bryan; he also was the uncle of [[mathematical physicist]] [[John Baez]]. He had three grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. He died of natural causes on March 20, 2007, at age 94 in the [[Redwood City]] care home where he had lived for the prior three years. Báez had been divorced from his wife, Joan Bridge Baez, for several years, at the time of his death. According to the singer Joan Baez, speaking at the 2009 Newport Folk Festival, her parents married each other a second time before his death.<ref>https://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=111395125&m=111501603 -- see the intro to Forever Young, which she says she sang at her parents' second marriage ceremony.</ref> His obituary in the New York Times states that "his survivors include his wife, Joan Bridge Baez of Woodside, Calif."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/obituaries/27baez.html |title=Albert Baez, 94, Scientist and Singers' Father, Dies |date=March 27, 2007 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>
Báez was the father of folk singers [[Joan Baez]] and [[Mimi Fariña]], whom he encouraged to enjoy music and the arts, and of Pauline Bryan; he also was the uncle of [[mathematical physicist]] [[John Baez]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fimrite |first=Peter |date=2007-03-25 |title=Albert Baez -- scientist, author, father of Joan Baez |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Albert-Baez-scientist-author-father-of-Joan-2568234.php |access-date=2023-06-08 |website=SFGATE |language=en-US}}</ref> He had three grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. He died of natural causes on March 20, 2007, at age 94 in the [[Redwood City]] care home where he had lived for the prior three years. Báez had been divorced from his wife, Joan Bridge Baez, for several years, at the time of his death. According to the singer Joan Baez, speaking at the 2009 Newport Folk Festival, her parents married each other a second time before his death.<ref>https://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=111395125&m=111501603 -- see the intro to Forever Young, which she says she sang at her parents' second marriage ceremony.</ref> His obituary in the ''New York Times'' states that "his survivors include his wife, Joan Bridge Baez of Woodside, Calif."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/obituaries/27baez.html |title=Albert Baez, 94, Scientist and Singers' Father, Dies |date=March 27, 2007 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>


== Publications ==
== Publications ==
Line 51: Line 51:


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
* [http://www.richardandmimi.com/parents.html Albert Baez bio on Mimi Farina website]
* [http://www.richardandmimi.com/parents.html Albert Baez bio on Mimi Farina website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716111104/http://www.richardandmimi.com/parents.html |date=2011-07-16 }}
* [http://www.answers.com/topic/1948 Science and technology discoveries, 1948]
* [http://www.answers.com/topic/1948 Science and technology discoveries, 1948]
* {{cite book |title=A Year in Baghdad |first1=Albert V. |last1=Baez |first2=Joan |last2=Baez |publisher=J. Daniel |date=1988 |oclc=17875340 |isbn=9780936784380 }}
* {{cite book |title=A Year in Baghdad |first1=Albert V. |last1=Baez |first2=Joan |last2=Baez |publisher=J. Daniel |date=1988 |oclc=17875340 |isbn=9780936784380 }}

Latest revision as of 18:34, 23 September 2024

Albert Baez
Born
Albert Vinicio Báez

(1912-11-15)November 15, 1912
Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
DiedMarch 20, 2007(2007-03-20) (aged 94)
San Mateo County, California, U.S.
NationalityMexico, United States
Education
Known for
SpouseJoan Chandos Bridge
Children3, including Joan Baez and Mimi Fariña
AwardsDennis Gabor Award (1991)
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
Doctoral advisorPaul Kirkpatrick

Albert Vinicio Báez (/ˈbaɪ.ɛz/ BY-ez,[citation needed] Spanish: [biˈnisjo ˈβaes]; November 15, 1912 – March 20, 2007) was a Mexican-American physicist and the father of singers Joan Baez and Mimi Fariña,[1] and an uncle of John C. Baez. He made important contributions to the early development of X-ray microscopes, X-ray optics, and later X-ray telescopes.[2][3][4]

Early life

[edit]

Albert Báez was born in Puebla, Mexico, in 1912 to Alberto B. Báez and Thalia Báez.[5] His father was a Methodist minister and his mother was a social worker for the YWCA.[5] Albert was four when his father moved his family to the United States, first to Texas for a year and then to New York City. Albert, his sister Mimi and brother Peter were raised in Brooklyn where his father founded the First Spanish Methodist Church in New York.[1] During his youth, Baez contemplated becoming a minister, but he followed his interests in mathematics and physics instead.[6]

Báez earned degrees in mathematics and physics from Drew University (BS, 1933) and mathematics from Syracuse University (MS, 1935).[7][5] He married Joan Chandos Bridge, the daughter of an Episcopalian priest, in 1936. The couple became Quakers. The two had three daughters (Pauline, Joan, and Mimi), then moved to California: Báez enrolled at Stanford's doctoral program in physics. Baez taught at Wagner College from 1940 to 1944, and then moved to Stanford University in 1944 where he taught undergraduate courses in physics and mathematics.[8] In 1948, Báez co-invented, with his doctoral program advisor, Paul Kirkpatrick, the X-ray reflection microscope for examination of living cells.[9] This microscope is still used in medicine. Baez received his Ph.D. in physics from Stanford in 1950, and wrote his thesis titled "Principles of X-Ray Optics and the Development of a Single State X-Ray Microscope".[2] In 1948, while still a graduate student at Stanford, he developed concentric circles of alternating opaque and transparent materials to use diffraction instead of refraction to focus X-rays.[1] These zone plates proved useful and even essential decades later only with the development of sufficiently bright, high intensity, synchrotron X-ray sources.[10]

Academic life

[edit]

As the Cold War intensified in the 1950s, Báez's talent was in high demand in the burgeoning arms race, yet his family's pacifism moved him to refuse lucrative defense industry positions, and he devoted himself instead to education and humanitarianism.[11]

From 1950 to 1956, he held a professorship at the University of Redlands, where he continued his X-ray research. Baez took leave for a year to work with UNESCO in 1951, and stationed his family in Baghdad[6] to establish the physics department and laboratory at Baghdad University. In 1956, Baez returned to Stanford and began to work with Jerrold R. Zacharias. Together, they worked on the Physics Science Study Committee, which was an effort to reshape the way physics was taught in high schools.[8] In 1959, Baez accepted a faculty position at MIT and moved his family to the Boston area. Baez worked on physics education with the Physical Science Study Committee, in particular, focused on producing films.[9] In 1960, working with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, he developed optics for an X-ray telescope. Later that year he moved his family to Claremont, California, where he joined the faculty at Harvey Mudd College. From 1961 to 1967, he served as the first director of the science education program for UNESCO in Paris.[6][9] Here, he helped to develop projects in the basic sciences in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Arab states.[8]

Baez was the author of the textbook The New College Physics: A Spiral Approach (1967). He was the co-author of the textbook The Environment and Science and Technology Education (1987), and the memoir, A Year in Baghdad (1988), written with his wife Joan.[12] Báez made nearly a hundred films on physics from 1967 to 1974 for the Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corp. Báez chaired the Commission on Education of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources from 1979 to 1983.[5]

On 22 June 1974, Britain's Open University awarded Baez an honorary degree as Doctor of the university.[13]

Retirement

[edit]

After his retirement, Báez occasionally delivered physics lectures and was the president of Vivamos Mejor/USA in 1986,[5] an organization founded in 1988 to help impoverished villages in Mexico. Its projects include preschool education, environmental projects, and community and educational activities. His lectures often included the "importance of the 3 Cs- curiosity, creativity, and compassion."[8] In 1991, the International Society for Optical Engineering awarded him and Kirkpatrick the Dennis Gabor Award for pioneering contributions to the development of X-ray imaging microscopes and X-ray imaging telescopes. In 1995, the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation (HENAAC) established the Albert V. Baez Award for Technical Excellence and Service to Humanity. Báez himself was inducted into the HENAAC Hall of Fame in 1998.

Báez was the father of folk singers Joan Baez and Mimi Fariña, whom he encouraged to enjoy music and the arts, and of Pauline Bryan; he also was the uncle of mathematical physicist John Baez.[14] He had three grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. He died of natural causes on March 20, 2007, at age 94 in the Redwood City care home where he had lived for the prior three years. Báez had been divorced from his wife, Joan Bridge Baez, for several years, at the time of his death. According to the singer Joan Baez, speaking at the 2009 Newport Folk Festival, her parents married each other a second time before his death.[15] His obituary in the New York Times states that "his survivors include his wife, Joan Bridge Baez of Woodside, Calif."[16]

Publications

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Albert Baez, 94, Scientist and Singers' Father, Dies". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2007-03-27. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  2. ^ "días estranhos". pawley.blogalia.com. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  3. ^ Liberatore, Paul (March 20, 2007). "Noted scientist was father of Joan Baez and Mimi Farina". Marin Independent Journal.
  4. ^ "Hispanic Heritage Profile: Albert Baez". www.craftonhills.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  5. ^ a b c d e McMurray, Emily J., ed. (1995). Notable Twentieth-Century Scientists. Vol. I. Gale Research Inc. pp. 91–92. ISBN 0-8103-9182-1.
  6. ^ a b c "Hispanic Heritage Profile: Albert Baez - 1912-2007 - Physicist, Inventor, Author, Humanitarian". Crafton Hills College. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  7. ^ Mellada, Carmela (Spring 1991). "Professional Profile: Albert Baez". The Hispanic Engineer: 23.
  8. ^ a b c d Thompson, Al; Castro, George (2007). "Albert Vinicio Baez". Physics Today. 60 (11): 75–76. Bibcode:2007PhT....60k..75T. doi:10.1063/1.2812133. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  9. ^ a b c "National Society of Hispanic Physicists - Albert Baez". National Society of Hispanic Physicists. Archived from the original on 2020-10-17. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  10. ^ Levy, Dawn (May 16, 2007). "Memorial service set May 24 for physicist, X-ray optics pioneer Albert Baez". Stanford University News Service.
  11. ^ [1] biographies.com/supp/Supplement-Ca-Fi/Farina-Mimi.html#ixzz3QEENOV4V
  12. ^ "John Daniel & Company - Backlist Books". Archived from the original on 2021-01-15. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  13. ^ "Honorary Degrees Awarded" (PDF). The Open University. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  14. ^ Fimrite, Peter (2007-03-25). "Albert Baez -- scientist, author, father of Joan Baez". SFGATE. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  15. ^ https://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=111395125&m=111501603 -- see the intro to Forever Young, which she says she sang at her parents' second marriage ceremony.
  16. ^ "Albert Baez, 94, Scientist and Singers' Father, Dies". The New York Times. March 27, 2007.

Further reading

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