Professor John C. Wheatley, known internationally for his low temperature research, died of natural causes while bicycling near his home in Santa Monica. California, USA. He is survived by his wife and their two sons.
John Wheatley obtained his PhD in 1952 from the University of Pittsburg where he worked on paramagnetic resonance with David Halliday. He then joined the Physics Department at the University of Illinois and started an experimental programme on nuclear alignment and magnetic resonance utilizing adiabatic demagnetizat; ~n techniques to obtain the required low temperatures. Wheatley resigned this position to accept a Guggenheim Fellowship for study at the Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory in Leiden but returned to Illinois as an Assistant Professor in 1955. In 1965, he became an Associate Member of the Center of Advanced Study at the University of Illinois.
While at Illinois, John, (known as J.C. to his students), developed a very successful practice of systematically improving his experimental apparatus and the associated techniques needed for his research. He also developed work habits involving long hours of ultradedication to the experiment in progress. This 'Wheatley technique" was instilled into a long line of graduate students. His lab uniform consisted of a white T-shirt. blue Bermuda shorts and tennis shoes; he changed to more formal attire only as required.
John was involved in all aspects of an experiment, He would consult with theoreticians to determine the most meaningful measurements to be made. He would design and build equipment. take and reduce data, and turn all the knobs. The results of this dedication were a large number of very significant scientific papers. His advances in the art of thermal contact, thermal isolation, and thermometry permitted a comprehensive study of the 3He and 3He-4He Fermi fluids at temperatures down to 2 mK. During this period he was also instrumental in establishing a low temperature laboratory in Bariloche, Argentina.
In 1967, he and his students moved to the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). At this time, he was introducing the dilution refrigerator and the SQUID into his laboratory. Later versions of this equipment were commercially produced by the S.H.E. Corporation, founded in 1970 by Wheatley with the support of several other physicists.