John Keeler Lawrence

John Keeler Lawrence, 77, died December 20, 2017, in Glendale, California. He was Emeritus Professor of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at California State University, Northridge. John was born in Brooklyn, New York October 11, 1940, the son of George and Mary Keeler Lawrence of Hammondsport, New York. John Lawrence received his Bachelor’s Degree from Harvard, and went on to earn two advanced degrees, Master’s and PhD, at Northeastern University. He then held post-doctoral positions in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Georgia, Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University Of Vienna (Austria), Department of Physics at Northeastern University, and the Department of Physics at the University of Windsor (Canada). In 1973, Dr. Lawrence joined the Physics and Astronomy faculty at California State University, Northridge (He was Department Chair 1976-1980). His career here was very rewarding and productive. Research interests included General Relativity, Cosmology, Solar Physics, Climate, and Nonlinear Dynamics. He became Emeritus Professor in 1991. John remained active in this role, especially in solar physics research, beyond retirement. The contributions Dr. Lawrence made to his chosen field of physics and astronomy are so numerous, such as – conducting research; teaching; writing and participating in grants; producing papers; making presentations; refereeing grant proposals and submitted papers; advising students, peers, and organizations. Scuba diving was John’s favorite sport -- he made a total of over 850 dives in a variety of different waters. The collection of his photos taken under water is extensive and fascinating. Many of these diving trips were with good friends from Northern California. Another center of interest was the theater. John was on the board for “A Noise Within”, a local classical repertory theater company. He said his motivation for participating was as much the friends he made as an appreciation for theater arts. John is survived by his wife Barbara of Glendale, California, and his son Francis with his wife Helen of Los Angeles. His grandsons are Joseph and Andrew of Los Angeles. John was preceded in death by his brother James in 1996.