Michael Karl Oskar Holz, 72, of New London, NH and Newton, MA, died in the afternoon hours of December 1, 2020 at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston. He was born on 4 April 1948 in Stuttgart, Germany, the first son of his parents, Hildegard and Dr. Günther T. Holz. In 1954, following the birth of his brother Hans-Thomas, the family settled in Tutzing, a picturesque Bavarian town on the banks of Lake Starnberg.
Michael first travelled to America as an exchange student in 1965 at the age of 17. While attending high school in Bay City, Michigan, he met his future wife, Barbara, née Thorne. They were married in 1972 in Germany and lived there for several years. Michael received a Physics Diploma from the Technical University of Munich before returning to the United States with Barbara in 1974, in order to pursue his graduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Michael received a PhD in Physics from MIT in 1978. They settled in Newton, MA to begin raising their family.
Michael’s 40-year career in physics included positions at both MIT Lincoln Laboratory and the Raytheon Company. Joining Raytheon’s Research Division in 1978, he worked on perfecting the multioscillator ring laser gyroscope, an important advancement that was ultimately incorporated by Airbus into its aircraft navigation systems. In 1985, he became a staff member of MIT Lincoln Lab, where his work spanned the areas of binary optics, laser beam addition, laser physics, and neural networks. While at Lincoln Lab, Michael served as chair of the Distinguished Lecture Series Committee and participated in the DARPA Neural Networks Study, which provided him with the opportunity to meet and interview his hero, Nobel-Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman. Michael returned to Raytheon in 1992 where he concentrated on developing commercial applications for optical phased arrays, among other key projects. Circa 2010, Michael transitioned from the optical phased array work to devising ultra-sensitive measurement techniques for characterizing high power laser gain media; these techniques were synthesized in Raytheon’s materials operations. He was the author of several notable papers and patents.
The New London, NH area, with its views of Mount Kearsarge and Pleasant Lake, reminded Michael of his childhood in Germany. The family purchased a vacation home in the mid-1980s and New London was ultimately where Michael & Barbara chose to spend their retirement years. During his retirement, Michael enjoyed traveling, cooking, and especially spending time with his beloved grandchildren. An avid car enthusiast, Michael was always eager to stay current with the latest innovations and advancements in all areas of technology. He was also able to fulfill his long-standing passion for architectural design through the rebuild of his NH property, combining unique structural elements together with novel home technology.
Michael will be remembered as a brilliant, kind-hearted, and quick-witted man who was first and foremost devoted to his family. He is deeply loved and will be greatly missed by many. He is survived by his wife Barbara of New London; brother Thomas and spouse Hannelore of Aichach, Germany; daughter Andrea Perlovsky with spouse Ilya and children Sofia and Nicolas of Westwood, MA; daughter Elisabeth of New London; and son Robert of Newton, MA.
"Ganz leise ohne ein Wort gingst Du von uns fort. Es ist so schwer dies zu verstehen, aber vielleicht werden wir uns wiedersehen?”
A private service is to be held at a later date.
Donations in memory of Michael may be made to Zeno Mountain Farm (https://zenomountainfarm.org) 950 Zeno Rd, Lincoln, VT 05443.
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