Dr. H. John Caulfield passed away on January 31, 2012 at Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro following a brief and intense battle with cancer. He was a native of Halletsville, TX and the son of the late Henry John and Mary Pendergrass Caulfield II. He was a creative physicist, known around the World for his ability to solve problems. He worked in many fields, including holography, optical signal processing, optical pattern recognition, computer design, artificial intelligence, color perception and evolutionary psychology. He loved to think and learn, and did science for the joy of it. He won many international awards , including SPIE’S Gold Medal and Dennis Gabor Award. He published 13 books, 40 book chapters, and 255 papers in refereed journals. He was featured in many popular news stand publications, including “ Byte Magazine”, “Business Week”, and the “Wall Street Journal”. He also wrote the cover article about holography for National Geographic in 1984. He founded the Center for Applied Optics at UAH. He was Chief Scientist, Alabama A&M University Research Institute and Distinguished Research Professor at Fisk University. He lived with his wife Jane and younger daughter at Far Out Farm in Delina, TN.
Dr. Caulifield is deeply missed by his wife Jane, and daughters Cindy Osborne and Kim Caulfield. There will be a memorial gathering at 1:00 PM on Saturday February 18th in the First Baptist Church of Cornersville in Cornersville, TN. There will be a memorial scholarship fund set up through SPIE. For details email KimCaulfield@mac.com
Higgins Funeral Home is assisting the family of Dr. H. John Caulfield.