Obituary of Allen E. Everett

Dr. Allen E. Everett passed away peacefully at his home on June 3, 2016; he was 82 years old. Dr. Everett was born in Kansas City, Missouri on July 8, 1933. He attended Princeton University where he earned his AB and received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in theoretical physics. He was a devoted husband to Marylee Sticklin Everett for their 42 years of marriage; Marylee passed away in 2008. His years without her were among the hardest, but his love and devotion for her continued to fuel his passion for their joint and his independent pursuits. Together they enjoyed all things in nature, often traveling to exotic places to experience them – wildlife, plants, flowers, animals, birds, parks and conservation. They together enjoyed many friends and colleagues who shared their passions and interests. Allen’s independent pursuit focused on the question of whether warp speed could exist, and if time travel, back or forward, could happen. Allen joined the Tufts Physics Department faculty in 1960. His early research was in nuclear and high-energy physics, including the structure of the deuteron and the S-matrix approach to fundamental interactions. Allen was Chairman of the Physics Department and recruited in researchers Alex Vilenkin and Larry Ford specializing in general relativity and theoretical cosmology. With his colleagues, Allen became a founding member of the Tufts Institute of Cosmology, which has achieved international prominence. Dr. Everett was a dedicated teacher who cared deeply about the success of his students. He developed a course on time travel that had broad based appeal to all students, including those majoring in non-STEM fields. This course combined science fiction and a study of the basics of relativity theory. Dr. Everett applied the basic principles of particle physics to understand the processes that gave rise to the early universe. Allen questioned the limits that the laws of physics place on faster than light travel and time travel. Dr. Everett co-authored a book on time travel with Thomas Roman, “Time Travel and Warp Drives: A Scientific Guide to Shortcuts through Time and Space” published in 2011 by the University of Chicago Press. It explains to non-experts what the laws of physics say about faster than light and time travel. Tom stated that “Our shared experience in writing this book strengthened the already deep friendship and respect that we had for one another.” Kip Thorne of the California Institute of Technology stated that “Allen Everett and Thomas Ronan take readers on a clear, concise tour of our current understanding of the nature of time and space – and whether or not we might be able to bend them to our will.” Allen leaves his sister-in-law Carol S. Lyons, and her wife, Ardith Wieworka, and many colleagues and friends who will miss him dearly.