John Lewis—In memoriam

Abstract

It is with a great sadness that I learned of the death of John Lewis, a gentleman, an admirable scientist and a great teacher. I have never been one of his students but every time I assisted one of his presentations, I knew I was going not only to learn something but also to understand complex ideas or theories. In other words, to me, he was the Perfect Teacher. I met John in the seventies in one CEIDP somewhere in the Poconos. Since the location was deep in the woods and far from the next village, the attendants had to spend the whole days and evenings together, which was supposed to facilitate exchanges and discussions. During one of those evenings, I decided to ask him a question but was a bit intimidated by his reputation (I was still a PhD student) and his standing. So, I started by Professor Lewis, may I ask you… and he said with a gentle smile Please, call me John. A typical John Lewis answer. We had several other discussions over the next forty years in conferences on liquid and solid dielectrics. One of my most memorable souvenirs is the Pavia Conference on liquids in 1985 where John was the invited speaker. He delivered one of his most interesting and stimulating lectures under the bust of Giovanni Volta. But the most extraordinary aspect of that talk was that it was delivered from the podium in the classroom where Volta was lecturing students more than two hundred years ago. The association of two great scientists united in time in that room was very moving. Although I was one of John's admirers, I did not always agree with him (especially on injection by tunneling) which gave us occasions to cordially discuss our different points of view. I (and certainly many others) will miss John's gentleness and clear scientific mind.