Obituary of John C. Slonczewski

John C. Slonczewski, 89, of Katonah, New York passed away peacefully in his sleep on May 31, 2019.

Born July 26, 1929, in New York City to Thaddeus and Carolina, his childhood was spent in the Upper West Side and on Long Island.  After high school, John attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute, graduating in 1950.  He received his PhD in Physics from Rutgers University in 1955. 

That year also saw the beginning of John’s career as a theoretical physicist working for IBM, the leading computer development company at the time.  His career there lasted from 1955 until his retirement in 2002, and encompassed the development of theories regarding magnetic tunneling junctions and spin-transfer torque, which both deal with computer memory and storage.  John’s awards and honors include the 2006 International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) Magnetism Award and Neel Medal, the 2012 IEEE Magnetics Society Achievement Award, and the American Physical Society’s Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Physics Prize in 2013.  His work also led to his inclusion in the Computer History Museum, located in Mountain View, California.

John enjoyed classical music, especially that featuring the violin and cello, and had a special interest in cosmology.  He loved traveling and studying languages from around the world.  He will be remembered for his amiable disposition, self-effacing sense of humor, and undivided attention in philosophical discussions and games of chess, and for many patient hours spent in games and activities with his children and grandchildren.

John is survived by his wife Esther (Lepore) and three children, Joan, Craig and Diane.  In addition he has three grandchildren, Daniel, Matthew and Odessa.

Friends may call on Clark Associates Funeral Home, 4 Woods Bridge Road, Katonah, NY, on Saturday June 8 from 2- 5pm.