On November 12, 2008, the Department of Physics held a gala celebration to mark "Forty Years in Physics" by three of its faculty members - Professors Di Bartolo, Goldsmith and Uritam.
Baldassare (Rino) Di Bartolo was born in Sicily, Italy. He received his first degree, Dottore Ingegnere in Industrial Engineering, at the University of Palermo, Italy in 1950. In 1956, he received a Fulbright grant and a scholarship from MIT, where he worked as a member of the "Foreign Student Summer Project". Rino became a visiting fellow at the Department of Physics and a staff member of the Laboratory for Insulation Research of MIT. While working in the lab, he entered the graduate program and received his PhD from MIT in 1964. In 1968, he joined Boston College. He married his wife, Rita, also in 1968. Their two sons – a physicist and a biologist – have inherited their father’s passion for science. During his 40 years in the Department of Physics at Boston College, Rino has enjoyed the friendship and fellowship of many fine colleagues and has taught many grateful students. Rino has written 6 books, edited 18 books and has more than a hundred journal publications. Along with his teaching and research fellowship at BC, Rino is proud to be the Director of the International School of Spectroscopy, which organizes spectroscopy-related courses every summer at the Ettore Majorana Center in Erice, Sicily.
George Goldsmith, a native of Massachusetts, built his first “laboratory” in the attic of his home with his childhood friends, working there on radio transmitters and audio amplifiers. George received his Bachelors degree in Chemistry from the University of Vermont., working as an analytical chemist following graduation. Later, George enlisted in the U.S. Navy and trained as a radar technician. While attending electronic school, George married his wife, Sonia, on the naval base. During his graduate studies in Purdue and while doing research at RCA’s David Sarnoff Research Center in Princeton, George made the switch from chemistry to physics. The Goldsmith family – his wife and their two daughters and two sons – have followed George from the US to Europe and back again. In 1968, George joined the faculty of Boston College. Since coming to BC, he has taught courses in undergraduate laboratories, photography, optics and nuclear science. As a member of the University community, he has served on numerous committees both in the Department and at the College level. During his years at BC, George not only has taught but also has touched so many lives of colleagues, students and friends.
Rein Uritam was born in the Baltic country of Estonia. At the age of 10, he entered an American school for the first time. Starting from that day, he took full advantage of his education and, so doing, made an American dream come alive. He studied at Concordia College, then, with the awarding of a Marshall Scholarship, took a second Bachelors degree at Oxford University. Later, Rein received his PhD at Princeton University. According to Rein, he had three grand ambitions in life: to be an opera singer, to be President of Princeton University, and to discover the meaning of quantum mechanics. In his quest to fulfill his third ambition, Rein joined the faculty of the Department of Physics at BC in 1968. During his 40 years at BC, Rein has worn many hats as a teacher, researcher and administrator. As Department Chairman, a post he held for 13 years, the Department’s main scientific focus narrowed to the field of condensed matter physics. Rein is also credited with strengthening the graduate program in physics. Rein enjoys a happy family life with his wife, Justine, whom he met as a student in Princeton. They have two sons. These days, Rein continues his involvement with the Department as Graduate Program Director and is actively involved in his church’s life.
