A Fond, Quiet Farewell
Celebrating Brett Esry’s K-State Legacy
The department is reflecting on the exceptional career of University Distinguished Professor Brett Esry, whose retirement last summer came as a complete surprise to everyone. While we have not yet had the opportunity to formally gather and celebrate his decades of contributions, his impact remains profound and far-reaching.
Brett’s path in atomic physics began right here at K-State as an undergraduate researcher under C.D. Lin. After graduating in 1993, he moved west to the University of Colorado Boulder, working with Chris Greene at JILA. His doctoral work was prolific, spanning many-body theory in Bose-Einstein condensation to the study of Efimov states. This exceptional start earned him the Deborah Jin Award for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Research in Atomic, Molecular, or Optical Physics in in 1999 from the American Physical Society.
Following a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute for Theoretical Atomic and Molecular Physics (ITAMP) at Harvard, Brett returned to his alma mater in 1999. He rose through the ranks with remarkable speed, focusing his research on ultracold few-body collisions and the interactions of matter with intense lasers.
Brett’s contributions were recognized frequently by both the university and the broader scientific community. In 2002 he received the Schwenk Teaching Award; in 2006, he was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society; and in 2011 he was named a University Distinguished Professor, becoming one of the youngest faculty members in K-State history to receive the university’s highest honor.
In addition to his research, Brett provided vital leadership as the Director of the James R. Macdonald Laboratory (JRML), guiding one of the nation's premier facilities for atomic, molecular, and optical physics. He served as lab director from 2013-2014 (interim) and 2019-2022.
Beyond his research, Brett left a lasting mark in the classroom through his graduate-level Quantum Mechanics sequence. Known as one of the most rigorous and demanding hurdles in the curriculum, the course became a rite of passage for graduate students. While the workload was famously challenging, those who emerged on the other side often cited it as their most transformative classroom experience. Students appreciated Brett’s uncompromising standards and clarity of thought, frequently remarking that they didn't truly "know" how to think like a physicist until they survived his course. The mastery gained under his guidance provided a foundation that served them long after they left K-State.
Though his departure last summer caught us off guard, we are eager to find the right moment to properly toast his achievements. Brett and his wife, Hilary Eaton, have embarked on a new adventure heading west although a bit further this time than Boulder.
While the halls of Cardwell feel a bit different without his sharp intellect and leadership, we are incredibly proud of the "homegrown" success story Brett represents. We look forward to a future opportunity to celebrate with him in person.