In Memoriam: Professor Barry Frank

Professor Barry Frank passed away on 27 January 2019 at the age of 77 years after serving Concordia University for 54 years. Barry made enormous contributions to the University and the Department of Physics since joining Concordia (then Sir George Williams) as a faculty member in Physics in 1965. He received his Master’s degree in Physics from McGill University and Ph. D. degree from the University of British Columbia. I had known Barry as a colleague, and was his closest friend in the department ever since I joined Concordia (then Sir George Williams) in 1967. I remember sitting down regularly on the 7th floor in Sir George cafeteria, laughing together, talking to students, as well as discussing serious personal matters.

He and I traveled together to conferences, and he came to visit me in Cambridge during the year I spent my sabbatical at Harvard. I also paid a visit to him during his sabbatical at King’s College in London, England. He and his wife Donnie loved to visit Israel during winter, and even invited me to a lunch in Haifa, Israel during my sabbatical in 2015 at the Weizmann Institute. Barry taught thousands of young minds, and inspired them with his passion and rigour for physics. He made many research contributions to the field of condensed matter physics, particularly for the Ising Model, and played major roles in the Department over the years, including being Chair of the department and of the Curriculum Committee. He always spoke his mind without hesitation, challenging the status quo and making valuable contributions to discussions.

Most importantly, he was a good person, always fun, with a great sense of humour, generous, and patient. He was always available for help. Barry was a family man and was devoted to the Jewish values. He is survived by his wife Donnie and his two daughters, Ilana and Dina, whom I have the pleasure and privilege of knowing for some fifty years now. Barry will be sadly missed!

Prepared by: 

Sushil Misra, Physics Department, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H3G 1M8

31 January 2019