Dr. Albert Vinicio Baez (1912-2007) was a pioneer in x-ray optics, a co-inventor of the x-ray reflection microscope, and advocate for science education. Baez was born in Puebla, Mexico in 1912. His family moved to the United States when he was two. His father worked as a minister at the First Spanish Methodist Church in New York City and his mother was a social worker for the YWCA. He earned his BS (1933) in Mathematics and Physics from Drew University, and his MS (1935) in Mathematics from Syracuse University. He taught at Wagner College on Staten Island from 1940-1944 before moving to Stanford University to continue teaching undergraduate courses in physics and mathematics. Following the end of World War II, he obtained his PhD (1950) in Physics at Stanford with Dr. Paul Kirkpatrick. His thesis was titled “Principles of X-Ray Optics and the Development of a Single Stage X-Ray Microscope”
Baez took a Physics Professor position at University of Redlands in California where he would continue to work on x-ray optics. He joined the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Iraq to help build several departments at Baghdad University. He and his family returned to Stanford in 1956 and then to Smithsonian Astrophysical Laboratory in 1958. In 1961, he became the head for the Division of Science Teaching at UNESCO, where he developed projects across the world for basic sciences. He continued to make strides in developing educational material in physics throughout the late 1960s and 1970s. He also served as chairman on teaching of science for the International Council on Scientific Unions and International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. In addition, he was a pacifist and humanitarian, and opposed the Vietnam War.
Following his retirement, he served as president of Vivamos Mejor North America, with one of the sole goals being the improvement of quality of life of communities throughout Latin America. He was awarded the Dennis Gabor Award in 1991 by the International Society for Optical Engineering for their contributions to x-ray imaging microscopes and x-ray imaging telescopes. He was inducted into the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation Hall of Fame in 1988. Today, Baez is remembered not only as a pioneer in physics but also as a science educator and advocate.
References
- https://www.craftonhills.edu/features/hispanic-heritage-month-2014/hispanic-heritage-profiles/albert-baez.php
- https://www.aip.org/content/baez-albert-b1
- https://sd2.org/albert-baez-pioneer-in-x-ray-microscopy/
- https://www.unesco.org/archives/multimedia/document-6570
- https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Albert-Baez-scientist-author-father-of-Joan-2568234.php
Feature Image: AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, gift of Albert Baez
Catalog ID: Baez Albert B1
