L. M. (Mike) Simmons

Mike Simmons first participated in the Aspen Center for Physics summer research program in 1966, a life-changing experience, and he returned as a participant almost every year for 30 years. He has served the Center as Member, Assistant Treasurer, Treasurer, President, Trustee, Honorary Trustee, and on various committees. With architect Jack Walls he oversaw the construction of Bethe Hall. He nurtured the Winter Conference program from its beginning in 1985 and, in celebration of the Center’s 25th anniversary, in 1986 he initiated the summer public lecture program, which has continued, renamed in 1988 in honor of Heinz Pagels. Simmons earned a Ph.D. at Cornell; his research interests have included dispersion relations, Regge poles, properties of Gegenbauer functions, coherent states, and strong coupling and other novel perturbation techniques in quantum field theory. He was a staff member at Los Alamos National Laboratory where he was also Assistant and Associate Theoretical Division Leader and Deputy Associate Director for Physics and Mathematics. At the Santa Fe Institute he was the founding Vice President for Academic Affairs, a member of the Science Board and the Board of Trustees.