CLASS OF 1953 WHO'S WHO & WHERE - The City College Fund

Paul M. Parker: I was born in 1928 in Vienna, Austria, where I completed my secondary educationin 1947. Later that year, I immigrated to the United States, sponsored by a U.S. relative. Istarted at CCNY in 1949, originally in the evening session while holding a 40 hour a week job.Majoring in physics, I fondly and gratefully remember my physics Professors Mark Zemansky andHenry Semat. In 1953, I graduated magna cum laude and was invited to join Phi Beta Kappa. Inthe same year, I became a U.S. citizen. After much thought and advice, I changed my family namefrom Perlmutter to Parker. Also in 1953, I was accepted for graduatestudy in physics by Ohio State University, and, in due course,received the Ph.D. degree in 1958. I then was awarded a facultyposition at Michigan State University’s Department of Physics.There, in 1972, I was awarded a Distinguished Faculty Award,one of six awarded yearly university-wide.My fields of expertise were optics and high-resolution molecularspectroscopy. I retired in 1993 as Professor Emeritus of Physicsafter 35 years on the faculty. I am retaining my membership in theAmerican Physical Society.I lost my beloved wife to cancer in 2006, after 47 years of marriage.I have a daughter, a son-in-law, and two grandchildren. They also live in Michigan, about 50miles from my home in East Lansing. We visit often.I am fond of theater, opera, ballet, and classical music, although I do not sing, dance or play an instrument.(I have tried!) During my CCNY days, I was a member of the evening session dramaclub, called The Nocturne Players. In 1951, the members of the club chose me to direct the play“Summer and Smoke” by Tennessee Williams. It ran for three performances in CCNY’s PaulineEdwards Theater and was well-received. I did not do any acting myself, but tried to make myselfuseful in other ways, like ushering. My biggest reward was the association with the people also interestedin theater.Finally, I need to mention Dr. Irani, a Professor of Philosophy whose required courses I took as asophomore. I was very impressed with his style of teaching, his personality, and that he appearedto be only a few years older than I was then. It was his influence that made me decide on a richlyrewarding academic career. Thank you, Dr. Irani!*Paul Parker passed away on March 4, 2013.