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Roger Kautz ’80

Roger Kautz

Born in Palo Alto, California, Roger wrote his thesis on Projecting Laser Oscilloscope with Prof. Richard Crandall [physics 1978–2012] advising. He received his PhD from Stanford University and completed two postdoctoral positions at Yale University, followed by two postdoctoral research positions at MIT. He was hired as a full time principal research scientist at Northeastern University and became director of the NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) facility in the department of chemistry and chemical biology, where he worked for 20 years. In his honor, the College of Science at Northeastern University established a Roger Kautz Prize in the department of chemistry, an award given annually to an undergraduate student who exhibits talent and shares Roger’s passion for NMR spectroscopy.

Roger enjoyed vintage dancing—dances from the 1860s through the Jazz Age—and mentoring the robotics team at Swampscott High School. He volunteered annually at the Ig Nobel awards at Harvard, and was active in numerous NMR and spectroscopy groups in Boston. He is survived by his wife, Karen; two children, Arthur and Julia; and two brothers, Steve and Brian. Roger donated his body to science through the Anatomical Gift Program at Tufts University School of Medicine.

Appeared in Reed magazine: December 2017

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