Warren Holmes, one of Paul’s physics students graduate students
As a parent, I am grateful for the opportunity and support he offered my son, Warren Holmes, a physicist for over 25 years.
~Judith Holmes
Remembering Paul
I had the great fortune to work with Paul when I started in the Physics PhD program. I learned so much from him, including tons of practical knowledge in instrument fabrication, and of course some glimpses into how he thought of experimental Physics. Was a true honor to be an associate.
~R. David Britt
I first met Paul on a train to Boston, on our way to start our freshman year at Harvard, where we both became physics majors. We then applied to be roomates as sophomores, but were instead assigned rooms on adjoining floors. Upon graduation (each summa cum laude), Paul went to UC Berkeley. and I traveled in Europe. The next year I joined him in Berkeley, spending lots of time in his laboratory learning about how to build and run experiments. We each were later recruited to Bell Laboratories, where finally Paul and I were able to share a residence. When Paul was recruited to the Berkeley faculty, and changed research fields, we were never again in contact.
Relevant to Paul's outstanding skills with building and operating equipment, and also to his acquisition of a vineyard and passion for wine-making, is the fact that his father was a professor of agronomy at UC Riverside, who invented devices to measure soil moisture.
~Richard Werthamer
Thanks to Paul
When I arrived from the U of Minnesota in the summer of 1983, I had no idea what being a PhD student at Berkeley would be like. I met Paul early in the fall quarter, shared some experiences that I had had as a technician working on some surface analytical instruments, and he took a chance on me and brought me into the group, first to work with Roger Tobin on IR measurements of molecular vibrations, and then on my own to measure the heat capacity of helium monolayers. While the focus was on Physics, what I really learned from Paul was all about how to design, build, and repair complex apparatus, and to patiently gather lots of noisy data and find a way to squeeze some signal out. These lessons have served me throughout my career through many adventures in microsensors, timing products and medical devices. I think the main lesson I learned from these experiences with Paul was Persistence - Discoveries are hard and nothing ever works perfectly the first time, but if there is a faint glimmer of a signal, it is worth the effort to tease it out.
~Thomas Kenny, Professor, Stanford