Oscar Albin Anderson

After a long life filled with science, wine, travel, food, witty humor, and the love for friends and family, thermonuclear physicist Oscar Anderson, 95, of Berkeley, California, passed away on November 20, 2021 in Oakland, California. Oscar was born in Palo Alto, California to Oscar Albin Anderson, Sr. and Ethel Victoria Pope Anderson. He spent his childhood in both the Palo Alto area and Lake County, California. At the age of 16 Oscar enrolled at Stanford University, where he earned a BS in Electronical Engineering. He later earned his PhD in physics from U.C. Berkeley. An accomplished musician, Oscar played the piano, flute, trombone, trumpet, clarinet and guitar. At Stanford, Oscar was rejected when he auditioned for the marching band as a trumpet player. Within a week he learned to play the trombone and was accepted -- self-deprecatingly saying it was because he was tall. He also enjoyed participating in the Stanford Jazz Society. As a teenager, Oscar would take the train from Palo Alto to San Francisco and frequent the jazz clubs, and his deep love for jazz continued throughout his life. He paired his electronics knowledge and his love for music when he recorded musicians such as Harry Partch, Bill Erickson, Bob Mielke and the Bearcats and the Golden Age Jazz Band among others. While at Stanford, Oscar worked as a photographer, and his love of photography continued throughout his life.

In 1949, Oscar joined UC Berkeley’s Radiation Laboratory (later Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, or LBNL.) As an avowed pacifist, Oscar was opposed to using nuclear energy as a weapon. His life’s work was devoted to using magnetic fusion to create energy in the same way that the sun does. Examples of his work were the Superconducting Levitron, negative-ion particle beam accelerators, and magnetic fusion energy projects. Oscar traveled to many countries to present papers about his work, starting in 1958 Oscar when he went to the Atoms for Peace conference in Geneva. There he worked with scientists from 66 countries to declassify information about how to use nuclear research for the purpose of creating energy, with particular concentration on nuclear fusion, which continued to be Oscar’s focus throughout his career. In 1993, Oscar was honored to be recognized as a fellow of the prestigious American Physical Society, for “the theoretical study and practical development of novel high current, high energy DC accelerators.”

Oscar liked hiking, playing tennis and swimming, and said that his good health and longevity was due to “doing something strenuous every day.”

Oscar and long-time partner Holly enjoyed travel; some of his favorite places were Baja, Carmel, Cranberry Island in Maine, Italy and France.

In 1980, Oscar started a wine club at his house, where he and Holly hosted more than 900 wine tastings over 40 years. One group member said “What I will remember…is Oscar’s open and optimistic joy of life, and his relentless pleasure in taking a subject like wine, which most people merely drink, down to its fundamental waves and particles as if it is a branch of physics to ponder deeply as well as enjoy.”

Oscar is survived by his partner Holly Hartley, daughter Susan DeVries (husband Dave), son John Anderson (wife Flo), daughter Claire Pendleton (husband Jerald), grandchildren Katherine, Hannah, Chelsea, Erika, Sophia, Olivia, Julia and Lucas and great-granddaughter Jolene. His daughter Erin predeceased him in 2019.

Those interested in donating should consider a gift in Oscar’s name to the Natural Resources Defense (nrdc. org) Council or the Del Sol Performing Arts Organization (delsolquartet.com).