Jeremiah “Jerry” P. Ostriker, the Charles A. Young Professor of Astronomy on the Class of 1897 Foundation, Emeritus, and professor of astrophysical sciences, emeritus, died at his home in New York City on April 6. He was 87.
Jeremiah “Jerry” P. Ostriker, the Charles A. Young Professor of Astronomy on the Class of 1897 Foundation, Emeritus, and professor of astrophysical sciences, emeritus, died at his home in New York City on April 6. He was 87.
Jerry Ostriker became Provost during my tenure at University Health Services. He was always gracious, kind and shared anecdotes about his work, even though he knew he was talking with a non-academic. I always enjoyed any time I had the opportunity to be in his presence and was grateful that he included me in discussions relating to our work at the University.
May he rest in peace.
Wonderful article in the NYT on Jerry, capturing so many dimensions of a marvelous mensch. The only thing it left out was his passion for squash. Jerry and I were regular squash partners for a quarter century, and we both looked forward to being on the courts. He gave me a hard time when I stopped playing after getting a knee replacement. He would have found a way to keep going, and he did after our weekly matches ended. Everything for him after all was a game of some sort.
Jerry was a true pioneer of computational science. His leadership on the Grand Challenge Cosmology Consortium drew me to the Princeton Astrophysics Department. Jerry was rare in his deep understanding of the science, math, and computing needed for breakthrough advances. Jerry also had a deep appreciation of Hoagie Haven that was always enjoyed by my fellow Peyton Hall grad students :-)