The following tribute to Ray Szara was submitted by Dr. Howard Snyder, University of Colorado-Boulder. Romuald “Ray” Szara passed away on November 11, 2008. He was retired from the James Franck Institute, University of Chicago, where he worked as a cryogenic engineer.
A Remembrance of Ray Szara.
“Fifty years ago, I was a graduate student at the University of Chicago working in the low temperature laboratory. I was pursuing a PhD degree with the guidance of Prof. Russell Donnelly.
When I started my apprenticeship, the laboratory was in the construction phase. Prof. Lothar Meyer had recently moved to Chicago from the University of Leiden, the European Center for low temperature research. He designed liquefiers for hydrogen and helium, improving on the equipment at Leiden. Ray Szara was responsible for the construction and operation of the liquefiers and Prof. Meyer was in charge of the laboratory.
Ray had a crew of several graduate students, very inexperienced in laboratory techniques, and a few machinists with considerable practical knowledge. As is common with new designs, the equipment frequently did not function properly.
Most of us feel frustrated and angry when this happens. But Ray was very laid-back and stoic. He never got irritated and always seemed happy. When a graduate student caused a malfunction, Ray always explained to the student what happened and what could be done to correct the problem. He felt responsible to teach graduate students all the relevant laboratory techniques.
The liqeufiers were staged Joule-Thompson expanders with with several throttling valves. The helium system was a closed circuit so that the helium gas was recovered. Very small quantities of air mixed with the helium gas caused one or more J-T valves to clog. An inevitable vacuum leak in an experimental apparatus let to clogging of the liquefier. This in turn led to a lecture from Prof. Meyer, a European-style professor.
Most of us felt devastated when we caused a blockage. About a half hour after chastisement by Prof. Meyer, Ray always appeared with a smiling face and he assured us that the sky was not going to fall. He helped us find and repair the leak. This was not part of his job description.
He was a good friend and teacher for all of us graduate students who used liquid helium. I believe I speak for all the students that passed through the low temperature laboratory by saying thank you, Ray.”
