Professor Emeritus
About
Gabriel (“Gabi”) Weinreich passed away peacefully from natural causes on February 22, 2023 in Chelsea, Michigan at the age of 95.
Gabi is survived by five children and stepchildren, Catherine Benamou, Marc Benamou (Raúl Ianes), Daniel Weinreich (Wendy Nelson), Rebecca Weinreich (Tara Rose Weinreich), and Natalie Benamou Scotti (Sergio Scotti); and by nine grandchildren, Thomas, Stephen, Shoshanah, and Ashira Weinreich, Thomas Wilson, Arianna and Valentina Scotti, and Aiyana and Emma Lao.
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Atomic beam spectroscopy, including a precision determination of the hyperfine structure of helium-3; semiconductor electronics, including the first experimental realization of a transit–time negative resistance diode; interaction of acoustic waves with electrons in semiconductors, including the discovery of the possibility of acoustic amplification; first correct theory and first experimental observation of the acoustoelectric effect; formulation of the “Weinreich relation” between acoustic attenuation and acoustoelectric effect; far infrared spectroscopy of donor states in germanium, including theory and experimental observation of the splitting of those states in an applied elastic strain field; mechanisms of domain wall motion in ferroelectrics; nonlinear optics, including participation in the first observation of second harmonic generation of light; theoretical models of vortex line motion in liquid helium; theory of bound electron states on the surface of liquid helium; time-of-flight spectroscopy on metastable atom beams and its application to the measurement of electron excitation cross sections and the study of gas kinetics; vibration of piano strings, including the first theoretical discussion of the importance of inter-string coupling and its effect on piano tone; dynamics and radiation field of violins, including the first absolute measurements of violin radiativity; discovery and theory of the “directional tone color” of the violin; theory of vibrating systems; computer synthesis of musical sounds; hammer-string interaction in the piano; theory and experiments on the bowed string, including development of a “digital bow”; measurement of mechanical impedances; theory and experiment on the coupling between wood and air vibration in the violin; dynamics of wind instruments; theory and design of loudspeakers; general theory of structure–fluid interaction; methods of measurements of violins leading to evaluation of quality, development of electric violins.
Books:
SOLIDS: ELEMENTARY THEORY FOR ADVANCED STUDENTS, New York, John Wiley and Sons, 1965; FUNDAMENTAL THERMODYNAMICS, Reading, Addison-Wesley, 1968; NOTES FOR GENERAL PHYSICS, Ann Arbor, NEO Press, 1972; MECHANICS OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS (Ed.), Wien–New York, Springer, 1995; GEOMETRICAL VECTORS, Chicago–London, University of Chicago Press, 1998; CONFESSIONS OF A JEWISH PRIEST, Cleveland, The Pilgrim Press, 2005.
Service, Awards, and Honors:
Phi Beta Kappa; Sigma Xi; Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award (U of M); Collegiate Professor (U of M); Committee of Examiners, Graduate Record Examination; Physics Honors Examiner, Oberlin College; Technical Committee on Musical Acoustics, Acoustical Society of America; Physics Honors Examiner, Kalamazoo College; Consultant, Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique, Paris; Fellow, Acoustical Society of America; Associate Editor, Journal of the Acoustical Society of America; “Opponent of the Faculty,” Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm; Visiting Professor, University of Paris; International Medal, Société Française d’Acoustique; American Association of Physics Teachers Klopsteg Award and Lecture; Panel member, Workshop on Science and Religious Faith, Purdue University; Hutchins Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Acoustics; Two sessions honoring Gabriel Weinreich at the 146th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America; Acoustical Society of America Silver Medal in Musical Acoustics.
