Sophocles Orfanidis

My friend (and former colleague) Sophocles Orfanidis died on March 2nd of Covid complications at the age of 76.

When I arrived at Rutgers, Sophocles had the office next to mine.  I didn't see him too often: Sophocles was truly old school: He would arrive to teach his class, hold office hours and then vanish.  I can't remember how we started to talk, but I may have introduced myself.  Sophocles taught all the DSP classes: Both the undergrad introduction, graduate DSP and finally "Optimum DSP".

But I really got to know him when he invited my family (including a toddler) up to his country house in the Hudson Valley.  I remember stopping by my local Italian food store (DiPietro's, now closed) to stock up on ciliegene to go with basil and tomatoes.  The country house looked across the Hudson Valley to the Shawangunk mountains.  There I learned to appreciate Sophocles innate generosity.

Together with his wife and son, they offered a slow pace, if only for a weekend.  Sophocles continued to invite us to the house and it was always a treat.  In fact, he sent me a set of keys to the house so we could use it if he wasn't using it.  This was typical of him. We went to visit him in Greece and he drove 1.5 hours to Athens to pick us up.  His custom house on the Peloponnese peninsula was designed by his best friend (who also built his own house next door).   The daytime was too hot to go outside, but in the evening light, we would swim in the warm sea and the retire to a nearby restaurant.

Sophocles was first, and foremost, a physicist --- an applied mathematician.  His PhD was on particle physics theory.  He used his formidable mathematical skills to analyze whatever was on his plate.  He would then use matlab to model and simulate the equations.  Somewhere along the line, he started to write down all that he was solving and simulating.  The result was his first book on "Optimum Signal Processing".  When the publisher refused to reprint it, he obtained the copyright and proceeded to update it and then released it for public distribution.

He also wrote his book on DSP, published it, and then once again, the publisher didn't want another printing, so he took the copyright back and publicly distributed it again.  But in the past few years, he turned his attention to Electromagnetics and proceeded to write another book... But this time, he just made it public from the get go.

All of his books follow the pattern of his thinking: First equations, then computer models, then simulation.  I learned this from him.

Sophocles was widely acknowledged as the best teacher in the department.  Maybe college.  He told me he only brought in a single sheet of paper with a few reminders on it and the rest of the lecture would spill out.  I deeply regret I never saw him lecture --- I was told he was energized when at the board.  I did see him give a paper on filter design at the Audio Engineering Society, but that isn't quite the same thing.

He was detail oriented, both in his teaching and in his writing.  Every little nuance was correct.  Most amazingly, he didn't grade on a curve.  No, he changed the subsequent exams to shift the distribution.  He knew how the students would perform on the exam!  I can't imagine how he did that.

Sophocles eschewed the modern university's demands by not applying for grants and not having graduate students.    He loved to teach and did so with incredible perspicacity.

Since leaving New Jersey, I saw Sophocles just a few times.  One forgets that intellectually vital people like him can just vanish.  But they do and the world is that much poorer.

I will miss his insights and warm generosity.   Sophocles' death leaves behind his family and friends.   And thousands of former students.  Literally thousands.