Steve will be remembered as a loving husband, father & grandfather, an ardent teacher, and a highly accomplished & respected experimental physicist. A good humored, thoughtful and well mannered man, Steve lived his life to the fullest. He had a passion for education, music & the arts, stimulating conversation, travel, long drives and fine food.
Stephan was born June 26, 1935 in Leipzig, Germany to Elémer and Anneliese von Molnár. He had one older brother, Géza. Steve spent his youth in both Leipzig and Fussen, Germany, growing up among the atrocities of WWII. He attended secondary school at Ettal Abbey in Ettal, Germany and enjoyed playing violin, acting & singing. Steve left Germany for New York City in 1947. In 1956 Steve married his late wife Jean Anne Sullivan. Their first son, Christopher, was born while they were living in Riverside, CA, where Steve received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California, Riverside. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Ossining, NY where Steve joined the Research Staff of IBM Watson Research Center. While living in Ossining the couple welcomed their second son, Marc.
Steve’s research as an experimental physicist allowed him opportunities to work abroad. Although the family remained anchored in New York, they lived together for a time in England, France and Germany. Steve took positions such as Visiting Professor for Cambridge University in 1970, and Visiting Professor CRTBT-CNRS Grenoble, France in 1982.
In 1986 Steve was a recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Senior U.S. Scientist Award, an honor given to internationally renowned German scientists and scholars who work outside of Germany.
Steve accepted a position as Professor of Physics at Florida State University in 1994, and he and Jean moved to Tallahassee, FL. Besides teaching, he was the Director of MARTECH, the center for Materials Research and Technology. Professor von Molnár’s expertise centered on rare earth metals and alloys, transition metal based diluted magnetic semiconductors, and the perovskite type HiTc and CMR compounds. His innovations in nano-magnetic particles have been applied in such areas as storage technologies and magnetic sensing devices. Steve held his position at MARTECH until the Fall of 2007 and retired from FSU in 2013. He remained active on campus as professor emeritus until his passing.
After retiring, Steve & Jean traveled extensively, taking road trips and cruises together. After Jean’s passing in 2015, Steve was thrilled to become a grandfather when son Christopher and wife Aja welcomed a daughter, Lena Jean. He enjoyed visiting with Lena over his last years, marveling at watching her grow.
Steve continued to lead a full life until the end - preparing a lecture, enjoying his family and friends, going to the symphony, and watching “Bundesliga”, a professional German soccer league. He was an avid fan of FSU’s athletic programs, especially football, soccer and women’s basketball. During the pandemic Steve was able to celebrate his 85th birthday with his entire family via Zoom.
Stephan is survived by his sons Christopher and Marc, their wives Aja and Jennifer respectively, and one granddaughter, Lena Jean. He is also survived by countless numbers of students & colleagues, who will carry on his legacy through the knowledge he imparted to them.
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