Miriam was born in San Francisco and was raised, from the age of four, in Queens, New York. She earned her bachelor’s in physics from the University of Chicago in 1961 and continued her graduate studies there. It was during this time that she met Arthur. They were married in his native South Africa in 1964 and settled in Pretoria, where she worked at the CSIR engineering lab. In 1967, they moved to Boston, where Miriam took a research position at MIT. She resumed her graduate studies at Stony Brook the following year, earning her Ph.D. in 1972 for her dissertation on cosmic rays in interplanetary space.
She had a long and accomplished career in astrophysics, working mostly in Stony Brook but in collaboration with colleagues all over the world. She managed the heliospheric division of the Science Section at NASA from 1991 to 1998 and, after that, served for one year in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House. She had a special interest in identifying and addressing the challenges facing women and parents in physics. In recognition of her contributions to solar physics and to the scientific community, she was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She continued to make significant contributions to her field until her illness took away her ability to do so.
She had wide interests beyond physics. She knit, crocheted, painted watercolors, and attended films and classical music concerts with Arthur. She loved art and learning about history, especially as it intersected with her own family history.
Family was always the center of her life. She enjoyed her children, grandchildren, and extended family.
She found meaning in Jewish ritual and prayer and was for many years a regular at morning minyan. She served for several years on the board of Long Island’s North Shore Jewish Center, successfully running their adult education program.
She is survived by her husband Arthur, children Frank and David (Andrea), grandchildren Aaron, Ian, Moses, Karl, and Elizabeth, brother Frank and sister Catherine.
A funeral service for Miriam will be held Wednesday, May 8, 2024 at 12:30 PM at King David Memorial Chapel & Cemetery, 2697 E Eldorado Ln, Las Vegas, NV 89120. Following the funeral service will be a committal service at 1:00 PM at King David Memorial Chapel & King David Cemetery, 2697 E Eldorado Ln, Las Vegas, NV 89120.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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