Retired SLAC physicist Gregory Loew writes second book — a memoir in three parts

We first met Atherton resident Gregory Loew in 2019 when we interviewed him about his first book, The Human Condition. We recently returned to his home to talk about his just published second book, Memories from Paris to Stanford: Life, Particles and Politics.

He explained that it’s divided into three parts:

• Highlights of his personal life, education and marriage
• A description of his 50-year professional career at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory where he participated in some fascinating accelerator and particle physics research
• Some of his observations and experiences in world affairs and politics that enriched his life

“In The Human Condition I wrote about the world, but I’ve had a varied and interesting life,” he explained. “While I was shy about talking about myself, I also thought it would be a pity if I didn’t share my experiences — that all this information would be lost.”

This included an early childhood in Paris before World War II, then immigration to Argentina in 1939.

“The reason we went to Argentina in 1939 is that only my mother had a visa to the U.S., but not my father who by birthplace had to apply under the very small Romanian quota. It was much easier to move to Argentina for us at the time.”

He came study at Caltech in 1952 and then to Stanford in 1954.

Gregory spent 50 years at SLAC in Menlo Park. “My first job was to design the linear accelerator, and the cover of the book is part of the accelerator.”

The SLAC work also enabled Gregory to teach around the world, meeting other physicists along the way. “I was very fortunate to be involved in some political events both locally and internationally,” he said.

Now at age 93, his mind — sharp as ever — is at rest as his story has been told.

Both of Gregory’s books are available at the Stanford Book Store.

Photo by Scott R. Kline (c) 2019