Arnold Strassenburg

We are deeply sorry for your loss ~ Gunderson Funeral Home - Middleton

ARNIE WAS A REMARKABLE MAN I’m privileged to reflect on Arnie’s life from multiple perspectives—that of his student, spouse, stepmother to his first brood, former spouse, co-parent, and friend. PRINCIPLED. Some believe “all we really need to know we learn in kindergarten.” In Arnie’s case, he learned the important life lessons by the time he was a teen from observing his parents, immigrants from Germany. Arnie held in high regard his father’s honesty, independence, work ethic, frugality, and sense of fiscal responsibility. Arnie was moved by his mother’s unconditional love for her five children, no matter their looks, intelligence, temperaments or accomplishments. Arnie lived his values. Take, for example, self-reliant and thriftiness. Even in his 90s, he lived by himself in his own home and usually didn’t ask for help for things he could do by himself. Months before his passing, I asked why he was eating food that he didn’t enjoy or was dried out. He matter-of-factly said, “my mother taught me not to waste food.” These attributes might have something to do with his humility. He didn’t toot his own horn—just spend energy on work and family, why waste resources on things like boasting and looking good. From his parents, Arnie gleaned the importance of accepting people as a whole. While he admired his father, he found his sternness off-putting. It was a puzzle to him why his mother doted on Hitler. He loved them the way they were. Despite having clear north stars, he didn’t demand them on others, including his children. Each child chose their own field of study and career path, as well as life partner. LOVE OF FAMILY. Like his mother, Arnie’s love for his children had no bottom. He wanted his children to feel loved and cared for whether they “made it” or struggled to make it. Although he was frugal, he didn’t hesitate to invest in his children’s future. He paid their educational expenses. It was a few years after my marriage to Arnie when he paid off all his grown children’s school loans. Arnie did everything to support Sandy as she tried out her artistic and unconventional ways. He was her guarantor so she could receive treatment in her last year fighting breast cancer. We were in Maryland and she and her husband came to live with us for a bit. Arnie and I, with our two young children, visited her the evening when she passed at 33 years of age. Arnie continued to pay her oncologist’s bill long after he lost Sandy. When a grown child asked for financial assistance time and again, Arnie steadfastly helped, even, at times, over vigorous objections of some family members. He never asked why money was needed because he respected the adult child’s autonomy and didn’t want the child to feel less than. He was always there too when a child needed an ear or a shoulder. A child was in need; he wanted to ease the suffering. In retirement, Arnie wrote his children (grandchildren, other family members and friends) regularly. That was his way to show love-- they were in his thoughts. He finally stopped writing when tremor made it impossible to do so. He also took his children, in turn, as his guests on exotic cruises so father and offspring, and sometimes their partners, could see the world wonders together. The travel took them from the St Lawrence River to the Amazon River, from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean, from the Rhine River banks to the Panama Canal banks. From Alaska wilderness to Hawaii wilderness. From the Galapagos to New Zealand. He treasured these memories. On his last trip, Arnie was 92 years old. This year, increasing frailty made it difficult for Arnie to do the little things that were enjoyable: making himself breakfast, changing the music CDs, getting food from the fridge, working his puzzles. Nonetheless, he wanted to keep breathing because, each day was another opportunity to support his children. INDEFATIGABLE STAMINA AND IMPECCABLE WORK ETHIC. Cindy mentioned that in her youth, uncle Arnie worked “all the time.” That was consistent with Arnie’s own admission. At the peak of his career, Arnie had three jobs simultaneously and some required extensive travel. By Louise’s tallying, he averaged 100 hours of work/week, leaving 5 hours/night to sleep, and a little over 4 hours/day to eat, do personal care, spend time with family. With little rest, Arnie produced a high volume of quality work. His colleagues, especially bosses, loved these traits. His students, I would know because I was one, were enthralled to learn physics through his carefully planned and executed demonstrations. When Louise met her untimely end at age 49, Arnie was devastated. He taught his classes the next day, anesthetizing psychological pain with work. Up to his final years, Arnie put himself on a relentless reading schedule that included many science and news magazines. Of course, he would do his darnedest to complete all the puzzles in the printed newspaper. On occasion, I would see Arnie rouse himself from a literal shut-eye. It was as if there was an invisible string connecting his will to him eye lids— the eyes would remain open to get the scheduled reading and his beloved puzzles done. INTELLIGENCE/MEMORY. When it came to Arnie’s cherished late sister Ruth, he figured her IQ must be in the 150s. I wonder if his could be higher. His grasp of, interest in, and retention of materials on science and world events and things in between were deep and vast. Others must think so too because they sent him books like Chomsky’s language theory, Joplin’s scores, “Einstein’s Rabbi” (a tale about science and the soul), as well as mystery books. His cognitive reserve was enormous. When he was navigating the rigor of academic demands at Illinois Tech and Cal Tech, he had the capacity to work every chance he had to supported his young family with Louise. At age 85, when he recorded for me his oral personal history, he had no trouble recalling names, places, people and events. He made few edits on the transcribed pages. Apparently, he recalled, organized, edited and narrated memories all in his mind. Although these capacities diminished some in his last few years, no casual visitors could tell. Arnie remained lucid and peaceful to his last breaths. YOUTHFULNESS AND GOOD LOOKS. According to Arnie, his mother referred to and treated him, her youngest of 5, as “a golden boy.” He had blond hair, was photogenic, was a good athlete and a musical protege (leader and pianist of bands that played big band music in middle school and high school), worked jobs after school since early teen years (and gave a good portion of the pay to his mother for household expenses), were popular in primary and secondary schools (after which he had family and work responsibilities), and adored his parents. One thing Arnie boasted a little was his full head of hair. His hair began to gray in his 70s. A few days before his death, he smiled and mused, “My memory isn’t as good as it was, but I still have my head of hair.” IN SUMMARY, I regard Arnie as an off the curve specimen of humans. In the past year, I talked to him about donating a sample of his DNA to functional genomics researchers who could learn about the role of genes and environment on stamina, cognitive functioning, physical and mental health and longevity. He was amused and was all for it Helen

Dad, I feel so lucky to have explored so much of the world together and to get to look back and remember so many special moments for years to come. Thank you for sharing your love of travel with me, I'll hold on to it forever. <3 Lee

Judy and I were deeply saddened to learn of Arnie's passing. He was such a good man and contributed so much to our nation over his long career that he will be missed by all who knew him. I always regarded him as a mentor and role model and the years I spent working with him in the physics department, AAPT and NSF made all the difference in my own career. He was surely one of the best physics teachers in the nation, something recognized by AAPT with a medal and his appointment as executive officer. He was something to behold as a lecturer.His chalkboard notes were so elegant that one could photograph and bind them as a collection in lieu of a textbook. He was so generous with his time and such a hard worker. I remember how he befriended a teacher at an upstate New York school who would write to him every few weeks asking for assistance with a physics problem. Arnie wrote back to him promptly with solutions, something that went on for several years. His legendary frugality turned AAPT around from bankruptcy during his tour as executive officer and served as a model for my own approach to management and financial planning. I even got used to eating a few crackers and some canned tuna for dinner in our shared hotel room at AAPT meetings. Bill Aldridge was once a student of Arnie's at Kansas and knew him long before I did. They became close friends. Bill was a notorious big spender and I remember that he submitted an expense statement to AAPT that seemed to Arnie to be extravagantly large. Arnie responded by saying "Bill, I am not surprised to see that you have submitted an excessively large wine and food bill. You will not be surprised to see that I have deleted it." Our occasional forays on hikes and camping trips were pure pleasure, ranging from Appalachian Trail to the Sierras, giving us much valued time away from our work routines. A piece of a summer that we spent at RPI working to develop physics demonstrations gave me a chance to see how creative Arnie was as a curriculum developer and writer, as did the years we spent working together editing the National and Legislative News section of the Journal of College Science Teaching. I am so fortunate and grateful to have known him. Judy and I will miss him greatly. Arnie's friend and colleague for 58 years at Stony Brook University, Les

In Memoriam of Dr Arnold A. Strassenburg I am Diana Eline-Ho, Dr. Strassenburg’s former student at Stony Brook University and a lifelong friend of his wife, Helen Pan. In 1978-79, I enrolled in Dr. Strassenburg Physics 101 and 102 courses. Helen and I sat side by side in the back of Lecture Hall 101 during class, where we both became immersed in the world of physics. Although I had been exposed to Physics in high school it was only during Dr Strassenburg’s lessons that I came to understand physics at a deeper level. I was fascinated! Dr Strassenburg spoke to us as peers. Physics became up close and personal despite the 200 students in the lecture hall. Eventually, after career paths as a scientist/engineer, I began teaching high school Physics, including AP Physics. As a teacher myself, I always wanted to thank Dr Strassenburg for helping me find my greatest academic passion. Beginning with Physics 101, I began a lifelong journey of learning and inspiring others to learn science and math. At home I encouraged my own children to appreciate science. I ran the elementary/middle schools’ science fairs in my town for 10 years as a volunteer. Dr. Strassenburg’s influence has had profound personal reverberations. Presently, my son Matthew Ho, PhD is in a 4-year joint Postdoctoral fellowship between I ‘Institute de Astro physique" in Paris and Columbia University’s Astrophysics Laboratory in NYC. Matthew's goal is to be Professor of Physics at a University with a strong Astrophysics/Cosmology program. My younger son, Mark Ho, also has a penchant in physical science. Mark has completed a 3-year training program in the US Navy to become a Nuclear Operations Engineer, otherwise known as a "NUKE". On June 24, 2025, Mark began his first tour aboard the USS Gerald R Ford, the Navy’s most technologically advanced Nuclear-Powered Air-Craft Carrier in the fleet. I want to thank Dr Strassenburg for his inspiration and the great impact it had on my life and the lives of my sons as well as my hundreds of students. In 1994, Dr Strassenburg and his wife, Dr Helen Pan attended my wedding in Marlboro, NJ. My mother kept asking "Diana, which one is the famous Physics Professor, Dr Strassenburg?" Dr Strassenburg has impressed so many people throughout his life. I will remember Arnold Strassenburg with great fondness and respect for the rest of my life. My sons and I will forever be students of Physics, thanks to Dr Arnold A. Strassenburg. Diana Eline-Ho, July 7, 2025

My story is simple. I knew Arnold back in 1966 to 1968 when I was a teaching assistant at Stony Brook University and he was a professor and leading the AAPT (American Association of Physics Teachers). I left for the University of Geneva and CERN after my master’s degree, and completed my Ph.D. there several years later. In 1974, now with two young children, my wife and I wanted to return to the U.S., but at that time there was a job crisis for young physics Ph.D.s and it looked like we were stranded. I received over 100 rejections, and not being physically located in the States did not help. I wrote to Arnold because I knew he was interested in those who pursued a Ph.D. in order to teach physics instead of doing research. He remembered me and was encouraging, telling me not to give up hope. As luck would have it, sometime after that Professor Alfred Bork of UC Irvine contacted him looking for a post-doc doing work in using computers to help teach physics. It was a perfect fit, and Professor Bork hired me after one phone interview. Three months later I was teaching the basic physics course to pre-meds and doing educational research with Professor Bork. Fast forward about fifty years. Our first son David has his Ph.D. in physics from Northwestern and has been the chairman of the physics department at Foothill College here in Northern California for over ten years. He is now on the Board of Directors of the AAPT. I told him that none of it would have been possible had it not been through my connection with Arnold those many years ago when he was leading the AAPT. It was an interesting way of closing the circle. David's son, Paolo, 20, is finishing his second year at San Jose State, on a path to becoming a physics teacher. In a very real sense, Arnold is responsible for three generations of physics teachers. Joe Marasco