It is with great regret that we report the death of Dr. Roger W. Boom, emeritus professor from the University of Wisconsin and mentor and inspiration to a great many leaders in the fields of cryogenic engineering and superconductivity. Dr. Boom’s career spanned more than thirty years during which he was extremely supportive to his students and collaborative with his colleagues.

He was a stalwart supporter of the Cryogenic Society of America. The Roger W. Boom award was created by CSA to be given to a young professional (under 40 years of age) who “shows promise for making significant contributions to the fields of cryogenic engineering and applied superconductivity.” The spirit of the Boom Award is to recognize young people for their pursuit of excellence, demonstration of high standards and clear communications. It will be awarded this year at the Applied Superconductivity Conference in Seattle.

Laurie Huget, CSA Executive Director, commented that “the loss of Dr. Boom leaves a tremendous void in the cryogenic engineering and superconductivity community. His influence lives on in his students and his students’ students. He was an inspiration to us all and through his example his leadership continued well after he retired from the university. He was a modest, kind and positive man, and I personally admired him and was grateful to him for his great support to CSA’s mission.”

CSA will publish tributes to Dr. Boom in Cold Facts issue #5. We invite you to send your memories, thoughts and photos to contribute to this memorial. Please send to editor@cryogenicsociety.org by August 27.