Bohdan Paczynski, Sister Dorothy Holmes, Elizabeth W. Samuels, Leslie B. Ultan
Bohdan Paczynski
Princeton University astrophysicist
Bohdan Paczynski, Princeton University astrophysicist and Princeton resident whose insights into the nature of celestial phenomena guided many developments in his field, died April 19 after a three-year battle with brain cancer. He was 67.
His pioneering efforts to develop the technique called gravitational lensing permitted the discovery of the first terrestrial planet found outside the solar system. Despite widespread skepticism from the astrophysics community, he also championed the idea that the still-mysterious events known as gamma ray bursts originated billions of light years away rather than within the Milky Way galaxy a theory that was ultimately confirmed by observations.
"He was incredibly creative and original," said Michael Strauss, a professor of astrophysical sciences and a colleague of Dr. Paczynski. "All his life he brought interesting approaches to interesting problems."
Dr. Paczynski obtained his doctorate in astronomy from Warsaw University in his native Poland and spent 20 years at what is now Warsaw’s Copernicus Astronomical Center, where he attained the rank of professor in 1979. He came to Princeton University in 1982 and in 1989 was named the Lyman Spitzer Jr. Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics.
"Einstein’s theory of relativity predicts that gravitational lensing should occur, but Bohdan first worked out its technical underpinnings," said astrophysicist Jeremiah Ostriker, who first brought Dr. Paczynski to Princeton. "He turned it into a backyard science that has produced our best catalog of the most stars."
A consortium of astronomers led by Dr. Paczynski eventually founded the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE), which has witnessed thousands of lensing events and now has a telescope at Chile’s Las Campanas Observatory dedicated to searching for more. His efforts revealed that stars, even including small, faint ones, could not fully account for the gravity holding our galaxy together, demonstrating the presence of the substance known as dark matter.
"The next thing Bohdan realized was that when you observe lensing that often, you can do other clever things, such as use it to look for planets around faraway stars," Dr. Strauss said. "If there’s a planet orbiting the foreground star, the planet will subtly change the lensing signature, which can be used to infer the existence of the planet."
These insights led to OGLE’s discovery last year of one of the smallest planets known to exist outside the solar system: a rocky planet five and a half times the size of Earth orbiting a star more than 20,000 light years away. Some 70 astronomers were on the team that made the discovery, but Dr. Paczynski was considered the acknowledged intellectual leader.
Dr. Paczynski maintained strong relations with the astronomy community in Poland, and he hosted a steady stream of visitors from his homeland.
Dr. Paczynski received the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society and the 2006 Henry Norris Russell Lectureship, the highest award of the American Astronomical Society. He was a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
He is survived by his wife, Hanka and their two children, Agnieszka and Martin.
A university memorial service will be scheduled at a later date.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Brain Tumor Society Ride for Research in which his son Martin is participating at www.braintumorsociety.org/site/TR.
Sister Dorothy Holmes
Longtime teacher at Stuart
ALBANY, N.Y. Sister Dorothy Holmes, a teacher and scholar who taught in Sacred Heart schools for more than six decades, died Monday of cardiac-respiratory failure. She was 99 and had been a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart for 63 years.
Sister Holmes held four master’s degrees: in mathematics, English, theology and interdisciplinary topics from Manhattanville College, where she graduated in 1966.
She taught in Sacred Heart schools in Rochester, N.Y., Detroit, Philadelphia, Newton, Mass., and Stuart Country Day School in Princeton.
Her term in Princeton, the longest of her ministry, lasted from 1969 until 1995, when she moved to Kenwood Convent, the society’s retirement center in Albany, N.Y.
After retiring from full-time classroom work in 1992, she tutored students in various topics.
Sister Holmes enjoyed teaching all levels, from young children to adults. In Princeton she prepared children for confirmation and taught Scripture to adults. Even after moving to Kenwood, she led Scripture study groups for her sisters.
She was a lifetime learner whose wide-ranging interests included drama, history, music and sports.
Her pastime pursuits included swimming and playing bridge.
A vigil will be held at Kenwood Convent, Albany, N.Y., 4:30 p.m. Sunday. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at Kenwood at 11 a.m., Monday followed by burial in the Kenwood cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Society of the Sacred Heart, 4389 West Pine, Blvd., St. Louis, MO, 63108.
Elizabeth W. Samuels
Memorial service is May 5
A memorial service for Elizabeth Willey Samuels, who died Dec. 9 in Boulder, Colo., will be held 2 p.m. May 5 at the Nassau Presbyterian Church, Princeton.
A longtime Princeton resident before moving to Colorado, she was a teacher at Miss Fine’s School, a sales representative for the American Book Co., and a learning disability specialist in the Hopewell Valley Regional School District, retiring in 1988.
Leslie B. Ultan
Cardiologist
LAWRENCE Leslie Barry Ultan died April 19 after a long illness. He was 72.
He was a cardiologist and personal physician.
Dr. Ultan established his private practice in Trenton and at Helene Fuld Medical Center, where he became chief of cardiology, chairman of the coronary care unit and coronary care committee and director of the non-invasive cardiovascular laboratory and trustee.
Born in New York City, he grew up in Bayside, N.Y.
He graduated in 1955 from Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science. He received his medical degree from New York University in 1959, did his internship at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y., and his residency in internal medicine at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut.
Between these trainings he served as heart disease control officer in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the U.S. Public Health Service.
He received a fellowship in cardiology at Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia. He taught at Hahnemann and Rutgers Medical School, published medical journal articles and mentored and trained paramedics and nurses in pre-hospital care of cardiac patients.
He was president and trustee of the Mercer County Heart Association and worked with others to establish in Mercer County one of the nation’s first community-sponsored all-volunteer mobile intensive care unit programs. The result of their efforts was the Mercer County Lifemobile Program, which he served as founding project director. It has since evolved into the Capital Health System Mobile Intensive Care Unit.
Dr. Ultan was awarded a Mercer County Special Recognition Plaque in 1977 for his work helping found the Lifemobile Mobile Intensive Care Unit program and made chairman of the New Jersey Department of Health’s Advisory Committee for Mobile Intensive Care Units.
He was also the recipient of Helene Fuld Medical Center’s first ever Doctor of the Year Award in 1979 and its Superior Clinical Teaching Award in 1981. In 1984, he was presented with the American Heart Association’s Golden Heart Award for his career work in cardiac care.
Son of the late Carl and Blanche Ultan, he is survived by his wife of 51 years, Susan; daughter Robyn; sons Robert and William; daughters-in-law Jill and Lisa; and grandchildren Matthew, Emily and Sophia.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Capital Health System Foundation’s M.I.C.U. Fund, 408 Bellevue Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618.

