George Brown Arfken (November 20, 1922 – October 8, 2020) was an American

theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experime ...

and the author of several

mathematical physics Mathematical physics refers to the development of mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The '' Journal of Mathematical Physics'' defines the field as "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the developme ...

texts. He was a physics professor at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

from 1952 to 1983 and the chair of the Miami University physics department 1956–1972. He was an emeritus professor at Miami University. Arfken was also an authority on Canadian philately.

Education

Arfken graduated from Montclair High School. He received a

Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university. In the UK, a Ba ...

degree in chemical engineering from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1943. He earned a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in physics in 1948 and a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

in 1950, both at Yale.

Personal life

George was born November 20, 1922, to George, Sr. and Ann (nee Hill) Arfken in Jersey City, NJ. He received a Bachelor of Engineering from Yale in 1943. Enlisting in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

, he served as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

(junior grade) in the Amphibious Forces in the Western Pacific. He returned to Yale in September 1946 and graduated with a Ph.D. in Physics in 1950. Arfken married Carolyn Dines, a graduate of Westminster College of Pennsylvania, in 1949, and they raised three children together. She died in 1997. In 1998, Arfken endowed a scholar-in-residence program in her name at

. George married Mary Seet in 1999. In retirement Arfken played a major role in developing the postal history of Canada for the 60-year period 1851–1911, following the pioneering work of Allan Steinhart. This was primarily a study of the postal rates, the routes the mail followed, and the postal markings on the envelopes and postcards. Arfken wrote one book on the United States' first postage-due stamps and then, with coauthors, nine books on the early Canadian postage and registration stamps. In addition there were over 250 articles in

philatelic Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...

journals. George was inducted into the Order of the Beaver, the Fellowship of BNAPS, in 1996, and named a Fellow of the

Royal Philatelic Society of Canada The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada is the premier philatelic organization in Canada. It is a member of the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (F.I.P.) and the Federation Inter-Americana de Filatelia (F.I.A.F.). The Patron of the socie ...

in 2001. He also received the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada’s Geldert Medal for best article in in 1989. For BNAPEX convention exhibits between 1984 and 1996, he received four Gold medals and one Reserve Grand award. He died in October 2020 at the age of 97.George Brown Arfken Jr. obituary
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Selected publications

;Articles * 1949
S-Wave Proton-Proton Scattering from 0.2 to 40 Mev for the Yukawa and Gauss Error Potentials
'' Physical Review'' Volume 75 * 1953
A Vector Addition Coefficient Identity
''Physical Review'' Volume 92 * 1961
Ionization of the interplanetary gas
Los Alamos Scientific Lab * 1973
Comment on “Elementary Use of Spheroidal Coordinates”
''

American Journal of Physics The ''American Journal of Physics'' is a monthly, peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Institute of Physics. The editor-in-chief is Beth Parks of Colgate University."Current F ...

'' Volume 41, Issue 12, pp. 1375 ;Books * 1966: ''Mathematical Methods for Physicists'' * 1989: ''University Physics'' , coauthored with David F. Griffing and Donald C. Kelly * 1989: ''Canada's Small Queen Era - Postage Usage During the Small Queen Era, 1870-1897'' * 2003: ''Essential Mathematical Methods for Physicists'' , coauthored with Hans J. Weber, Frank E. Harris

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arfken, George B. 1922 births 2020 deaths 21st-century American physicists Miami University faculty Theoretical physicists Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science alumni People from Jersey City, New Jersey