Remembering Barbara Jones

We were shocked and saddened by the recent news of Barbara Jones’ passing. Barbara was not only a prominent scientist as a theorist working on spintronics, magnetic impurities, quantum computing, and virus transmission, she was also a strong presence through her service in the physics community to broaden participation in science.

Our physics department had a special connection with her. Barbara was a member of our Industrial Leadership in Physics (ILP) advisory committee since the founding of our graduate program in 2000. We are extremely thankful for Barbara’s guidance and support in the past years and she will be greatly missed by the Georgetown physics faculty and students. She has been a staunch supporter of the ILP and, within a close collaboration with Jim Freericks, she has co-advised and hosted many students at IBM Almaden research laboratory, where she worked for the past 35 years. Professor Freericks shared below the impact that Barbara has had as a colleague and as an advisor for his students: 

For twenty five years, I collaborated with Barbara in training graduate students from Georgetown. We would have them spend a year at IBM learning how the environment in industry is different from academia. Students repeatedly told me that the best part of the time spent there was the time with Barbara, even if they were not directly working together. She patiently advised them both on science and on life, leaving them better prepared for their future. Barbara also served on the Industrial Advisory Board of the Georgetown Physics Ph.D. program, and provided unique insights to help us improve the program for the students. She remained dedicated to it since the program launched in 2000. Personally, I feel a deep loss of such a great colleague. While we did not communicate often (just a few times a year), she always enriched us with her lovely smile and ability to discuss even difficult topics without judging. I miss her and will try to live up to her ideals in my own life, difficult as that may be.