Former PPL Scientist
John M. Greene, a distinguished research physicist and applied mathematician who worked for many years at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), died Oct. 22 in San Diego. He died from Parkinson’s disease complications, exacerbated by the smoky atmosphere of the recent southern California fires.
Born in 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pa., he received a bachelor’s degree in physics from the California Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Rochester in 1955.
Dr. Greene, a long-time resident of Princeton Junction and Princeton Township, spent 27 years as one of the leading theoretical physicists at PPPL, where he worked with colleagues to make pioneering contributions to plasma physics and fusion energy. Plasmas are ionized gases that are often referred to as “the fourth state of matter” and comprise over 99 percent of the visible matter in the universe.
An internationally recognized scientist, Dr. Greene was awarded the distinguished Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics by the American Physical Society in 1982. In 2006, together with his colleagues Clifford Gardner, Martin Kruskal, and Robert Miura, Dr. Greene was awarded the Steele Prize by the American Mathematical Society.
Upon leaving Princeton in 1982, Dr. Greene joined the theoretical physics group at General Atomics in La Jolla, Calif., and was an adjunct professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego. He continued to work productively with and inspire many colleagues there until his retirement in 1995.
Dr. Greene, an Eagle Scout, was a hiker, camper and bird watcher. He was active in the Sierra Club in New Jersey and took part in many local conservation projects wherever he worked, including the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Australia and Japan.
He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Alice; daughter Emily; two grandchildren; and sister Priscilla. Memorial contributions may be made to the Nature Conservancy, Attn: Treasury (Web/Support), 4245 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100 Arlington, VA 22203.

