Benjamin Abeles

Benjamin Abeles
Born	Bedrich Abeles (1925-06-23)23 June 1925 Vienna,Austria
Died	14 December 2020(2020-12-14)(aged 95) Leicester,England
Alma mater	Charles University in Prague,Czech Technical University in Prague
Awards	1979Stuart Ballantine Medal
Scientific career
Fields	material physics
Institutions	David Sarnoff Research Center,Exxon Research and Engineering,Annandale,New Jersey.
Thesis	The Galvanomagnetic Effects in Bismuth and Bi-Sn Alloys(1955)

Benjamin Abeles(23 June 1925 – 14 December 2020) was an Austrian-Czech physicist whose research in the 1960s in the US ongermanium–siliconalloysled to the technology used to power space probes such as theVoyagerspacecraft.He grew up in Austria and Czechoslovakia and arrived in the UK in 1939 on one of theKindertransportmissions. He completed his education after the war in Czechoslovakia and Israel (from 1949), obtaining a doctorate in physics. He then lived and worked as a research physicist in the US and retired in 1995. His honours include the 1979Stuart Ballantine Medaland his induction into theNew Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame(1991).

Early life and education

Born inViennain 1925, Abeles lived inCzechoslovakiafrom 1934.In July 1939, aged 14, he was one of hundreds of Jewish children brought fromPragueto London through the efforts of British humanitarianNicholas Winton,an example of the variousKindertransportmissions that saved many such children from the impending dangers of World War II and the Holocaust.His parents and older sister were later deported and murdered by the Nazis.At age 15, he worked as a waiter and took correspondence courses in English, mathematics, physics and chemistry. When he was 18, Abeles served as a mechanic in the war as part ofNo. 311 Squadron RAF.He then returned to Czechoslovakia after the war and studied atCharles University in PragueandCzech Technical University in Prague,before moving to Israel in 1949 to study for his physics doctorate in Jerusalem.His thesis, published in 1955, was titled 'The Galvanomagnetic Effects in Bismuth and Bi–Sn Alloys'.

Career

Following the award of his PhD, Abeles worked in Israel on germanium electronics before moving to the United States to carry out research in Princeton for theRadio Corporation of America.During his career, Abeles worked at both theDavid Sarnoff Research Centerand at Exxon Research and Engineering inAnnandale,New Jersey. Working with George D. Cody in the 1960s, Abeles developed germanium–silicon alloys that were used in the development of theradioisotope thermoelectric generatorsused to power spacecraft and probes engaged in long voyages ofspace exploration.Abeles also worked as a professor at theUniversity of Texas.

Recognition and later life

For their work, Abeles and Cody received the 1979Stuart Ballantine Medal(Engineering) from the Franklin Institute,and were inducted into theNew Jersey Inventors Hall of Famein 1991.Abeles's 65th birthday in 1990 was marked by a symposium in his honour: 'Physical Phenomena in Granular Materials'.He retired in 1995, and subsequently lived predominantly in the UK.

Abeles died inLeicester,England on 14 December 2020, aged 95.

External links

• 'Nicky's Family' reveals legacy of human compassion,review of documentary on thekindertransportchildren including Abeles (ceskapozice.cz)
• Czech-language interview with Abeles in 2011(lidovky.cz)