Index of:
Previous Issues
Current Stories

University Mourns Loss Of Noted Professor

A noted NJIT chemical professor, who helped develop the atom bomb during World War II, died Monday, Aug. 7, at home. Joseph Joffe, 90, was a distinguished professor of chemical engineering at NJIT, where he taught for 43 years before retiring, in 1975, as a professor emeritus. He had been chairman of the Department of Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Environmental Science.

Joffe was an expert in thermodynamics and published research and did work during the summers of 1948 through 1977 for Exxon Research and Engineering Co. He was a graduate of Columbia University, with a B.S. degree in chemical engineering, a master’s degree in physics and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry, all by the age of 23. He attended Columbia University on a full Pulitzer scholarship.

While at Columbia, Mr. Joffe was a University Fellow in chemistry and assisted professor Harold Urey on his work that discovered heavy hydrogen and earned a Nobel Prize. Urey was Joffe’s thesis advisor for his Ph.D. research, which involved measuring the nuclear spin of sodium.

During World War II, Mr. Joffe worked on the Manhattan project, which developed the first atomic bomb. He worked on separating fissionable U235 from inert U238. Born in Russia, he lived in Maplewood for many years.

Surviving are Bertha, his wife of 69 years, three sons, Robert D., Paul L. and Richard T., and five grandchildren.

back to top| Home