The October 2012 issue of physica status solidi (b) was dedicated to the 90th birthday of Stanford Robert Ovshinsky. After the publication of the online version of the special issue , sad news came: on 17 October 2012, Stan Ovshinsky passed away, a month short of his 90th anniversary.

The October issue of physica status solidi (b) was dedicated to the 90th birthday of Stanford Robert Ovshinsky. After the publication of the online version of the special issue, sad news came: on 17 October 2012, Stan Ovshinsky passed away, a month short of his 90th anniversary. Stan's passing is an unrecoverable loss for everybody who knew him and also to those who have never heard his name since in our everyday life we are constantly surrounded by things that became possible due to Stan's extraordinary genius. Stan's work paved the way to re-writable optical discs such as digital versatile discs (DVDs), the now emerging phase-change electronic memory called PC-RAM, that has been recently commercialized by Samsung and Micron and used in mobile electronic devices, flat panel TV and computer displays, and hybrid car batteries, to name a few of his major inventions. Nowadays, it is difficult–if at all possible–to find a household that is not equipped with at least one of these products, many have more than one. A single person driving a Toyota Prius car, talking on a recent Samsung mobile phone and working on a lap-top computer with data backed-up onto a re-writable disc uses four of Stan's inventions and every each of them is a significant step forward in improving the life quality.

It is really amazing that these inventions were made by the same person but even more remarkable is the fact that Stan did not receive a formal university education. Despite this–or thanks to this–Stan always addressed the issues that others thought unsolvable, and successfully solved them. The last years of his life were dedicated to making use of solar energy cheaper than burning coal.

The significance of Stan's inventions puts him on a par with Edison but, in addition to being a great inventor, Stan was also a brilliant scientist who wrote about 300 academic papers that laid the foundations of the vast field of amorphous semiconductors. Leaving alone the fact that Stan appreciated their importance well before most others and realised that the range of compositions that can be formed in the amorphous phase is unmeasurably larger than those that can exist as crystals–when many prominent physicists did not believe that amorphous semiconductors could even exist–he was the first one to demonstrate the usefulness of disordered semiconductors. His discovery of the switching phenomenon in chalcogenide alloys, dubbed the Ovshinsky effect, triggered studies of amorphous semiconductors around the world and eventually resulted in the development of devices that otherwise would have been impossible to make.

Being self-educated, Stan mastered to perfection the art of reading books and finding in them answers to questions missed by most others. He had a very deep knowledge of not only academic and technological issues related to his professional activities, but also of the world's literature and history. He liked learning new things and remained a diligent learner until his very last day.

In an attempt to implement his inventions, in 1960 Stan, together with his wife Iris, founded the company Energy Convention Devices. At one point this was a major manufacturer of solar cells but it was almost always loosing money. Being an inventor as opposed to an investor–one single letter can make a big difference–Stan was never interested in profit. His goal was to change the world through science and technology and to use technology in order to solve social problems.

He was inspired by his vision of humanity freed from resources wars and climate changes. With his roots going to the labour, civil rights and peace movements, Stan's personal motto has always been “with the oppressed against the oppressors”. Stan never said that his subordinates worked for him, they all worked with him. He always encouraged his younger colleagues to develop their potential and to achieve more, and many of us are deeply indebted to Stan.

After the tragic death of his wife Iris in 2006, during the last years of his life Stan was supported with dedication by his old-time colleague Rosa Young, now Rosa Ovshinsky, with whom he founded Ovshinsky Innovations LLC to work on solar cells and cognitive computing and who is determined to continue the course they started together.

Stan's image is deeply imprinted in the hearts and minds of those who had the privilege of knowing him and working with him and shall never be erased. The readers of physica status solidi are invited to visit his virtual memorial located at www.forevermissed.com/stanford-r-ovshinsky to learn more about him and to light a candle in bright memory of Stan Ovshinsky, a brilliant scientist, a great inventor, and a most remarkable human being.

Alexander V. Kolobov

"We are Michiganders who believe in Equality, Liberty and Justice for all. We support the ACLU because its unique and principled approach ensures that our civil rights and civil liberties are protected."   Stan and Rosa Ovshinsky, 2012

Since its founding in 1920, the American Civil Liberties Union led the fight to conserve our most precious liberties.  The ACLU of Michigan’s mission remains realizing the promise of the Bill of Rights for all and expanding the reach of its guarantees to new areas. Through a variety of channels — public education, advocacy, organizing, and litigation — the ACLU is the premier civil rights organization in our country, earning widespread respect and admiration for its consistent defense of constitutionally based principles. The ACLU of Michigan is committed to supporting this message within our fair state. http://aclumich.org/about-us

Please direct donations to:

ACLU of Michigan 
Attention: Paul Jeden
2966 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, MI 48201 

(313) 578-6813
pjeden@aclumich.org

 

The Ovshinsky Student Fund, administered by the American Physical Society,assists in the career development of young researchers in material physics and aligns with Stan’s  scientific interests and strong commitment to education.  The fund was established six years ago after the death of Iris Ovshinsky.  Since then the Ovshinsky family and their colleagues and friends from many scientific, social, intellectual and business relationships have enthusiastically contributed.  Each year at their annual March meeting the APS Division of Materials Physics will grant awards from the fund to the graduate and undergraduate students who will benefit most.

A Fellow of the American Physical Society since 1985, Stan had a special relationship with the organization.  Many of his research papers and much of ECD’s science and technology in materials sciences were published in APS journals and reported on at APS meetings.

The APS is a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization and thus all contributions are fully tax deductible.  APS will provide the family with the names of those contributing. 

Please direct gifts to:

Darlene Logan
Director of Development
American Physical Society
One Physics Ellipse
College Park, MD  20740

Notation:  Ovshinsky Student Fund

or on-line  https://www.aps.org/memb-sec/donation/DonationFunds.cfm

(301)209-3224 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm26KVIutps&feature=em-share_video_user

WDET FM Detroit interview with Harley Shaiken about Stan 

http://www.wdetfm.org/news/story/Pioneering-Scientist-And-Inventor-Ovshinsky-Dies-A/


NPR's Morning Edition 

http://www.npr.org/2012/10/19/163224668/the-last-word-in-business

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_R._Ovshinsky

The Wall Street Journal  

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444734804578065092947199484.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/19/technology/stanford-ovshinsky-an-inventor-compared-to-edison-dies-at-89.html?pagewanted=all

Crain's Detroit Business

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20121018/FREE/121019869/stanford-ovshinsky-the-energy-behind-energy-conversion-devices-and#

The Detroit News

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20121018/BIZ/210180478/1361/Inventor--solar-innovator-Stanford-R.-Ovshinsky-dies-at-89

Detroit Free Press

http://www.freep.com/article/20121018/NEWS08/121018054/Stanford-Ovshinsky-death-solar-cells?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Associated Press 

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gh_5ngJy4TfJqO0hiUvvJnqfVxsQ?docId=ca54a43791fd414fac31de5764f8ebaf

Forbes

http://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2012/10/18/stanford-ovshinsky-the-battery-genius-behind-smartphones-and-hybrids-dies-at-89/ 

The Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9621164/Stanford-Ovshinsky.html 

The Honorable Senator Carl Levin from the State of Michigan and his wife Barbara were long-time friends and admirers of Stan.  Senator Levin addressed the celebrants at Stan's 90th birthday party in September and placed his remarks and those of the two other keynote speakers, Professors Hellmut Fritzsche and Harley Shaiken in the Congressional Record: 

www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2012-09-11/pdf/CREC-2012-09-11-pt1-PgS6103.pdf

Stanford Ovshinsky was a self-taught scientist, Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Stan is credited with the development of the field of amorphous and disordered semiconductors.   His belief that energy and information are the two pillars of society, which guided his pioneering work in the fields of sustainable energy and information technology.  His advanced nickel-metal hydride battery enabled the hybrid vehicle industry, his continuous web multi-junction flexible solar panels set the standard for thin film photovoltaic energy generation, and his non-volatile phase change memory technology are on the verge of replacing flash memory.  Other contributions included flat panel liquid crystal displays,  hydrogen storage and fuel cell technology.

Stan was among 35 American inventors over the past century “who helped to shape the modern world” and as a result was profiled in the book, Inventing Modern America. “He was the last of his kind,” says Dr. Harley Shaiken Professor of Education and Geography at the University of California at Berkeley and Chair of the University’s Center for Latin American Studies.  “Henry Ford transformed the 20th century with a moving assembly line and a car that was suited to mass production.  Stan Ovshinsky did what Ford did but he really went beyond him in that he also developed the science that allowed new materials and new approaches that laid the basis for a global transformation in energy and information.”  

Described by the British publication The Economist as “the Edison of our age”, Stan was a brilliant physicist and inventor, who with his wife Rosa and his late wife Iris, lived his beliefs daily by using science and technology to create a cleaner and better world.  Stan played a prominent role in the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” 

In 1960, Stan and his late wife Iris co-founded the company Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD), to develop and apply his inventions to the fields of information and energy creating a new field based on his work known as “Ovonics.”  After Iris’ death, Stan married Dr. Rosa Young.  In 2007, he retired from ECD and formed  Ovshinsky Innovation LLC and Ovshinsky Solar LLC to accelerate his work in energy and information. 

Stan’s global recognition includes his overwhelming nomination to receive the 2012 Hans Bethe Award for his outstanding research and development of material science, which will be awarded in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on November 7, 2012, selection as a finalist for the prestigious European Inventor Award 2012 by the European Patent Office for his development of nickel-metal hydride batteries and the 2005 Innovation Award for Energy and the Environment by The Economist.  Stan and Iris were named Heroes of Chemistry 2000 by the American Chemistry Society.  He was also named  “Hero for the Planet” by Time magazine in 1999.

Stan was awarded numerous honorary degrees, including an Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Michigan (2010).  He was proud to have shared the stage with President Obama who received an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree.

In addition to being a scientist, Stan was also a committed humanitarian.  His courage and leadership from the early days of the labor, civil rights and peace movements, continued in his lifelong dedication to a just society for all.