Professor Jeremiah David Sullivan, 77, of Urbana, Illinois, longtime distinguished Professor and former head of the Physics Department, University of Illinois, died at 1:20 am on Thursday, July 7, 2016 at home after a long illness. He was born on November 15, 1938 in Norwood, Massachusetts to Jeremiah F. Sullivan and Doris Nutton Sullivan, of Foxboro, MA, both high school teachers, who preceded him in death, as did his sisters, Doris Ann Bradbury, and Mary Ellen Hanley. A brother, David Hall Sullivan, died before Jeremiah was born.

He is survived by his loving wife of 54 years, Sheila (Bonar) Sullivan, his daughter Maureen E. Sullivan, and son Jeremiah J. Sullivan (Jennifer), and one granddaughter, Lily S. Sullivan. Also two nieces and three nephews: Captain Timothy R. Hanley, U.S.N. (Ret.) (Marie), Mary K. Hanley (Ken Scheffler), David L. Bradbury (Carla), Karole L. Bradbury, and Steven E. Bradbury. His many friends and family will miss him greatly.

Jeremiah had a wonderful laugh, a sense of humor, endless curiosity, and a strong commitment to the work of education. He loved sailing in the Pacific waters off San Diego, and he was delighted being co-captain of a 6 person sail boat for two weeks with friends in Tahiti and Bora Bora in 2001.

His friends were surprised at his skill and ability handling the tools of carpentry to build additions to the house, when his day job was theoretical physics. His father was a self-taught carpenter and Jeremiah (then "Jerry") learned a lot from his dad as he helped, at age 12, to build their house in Foxboro, MA. As both parents were high school teachers, his mother at Foxboro High School and father at Jamaica Plain High School, they were able to spend summers in West Townshend, VT. Jerry watched and helped as his father wired the Vermont house for electricity, using a hand drill. He often recounted the wonderful times with family and young friends swimming in the West River and enjoying the beauty of Vermont.

He took pleasure in building furniture and wooden toys for his children, and was handy in fixing things that broke. He was quick to discover how things worked. He shared his skills with his daughter and son, showing them his methods as he worked. He had an interest in art, he was good at framing pictures for home and for gifts. He enjoyed music, the garden and time in nature. He cared about people and lent his considerable support, when asked, to help them solve problems or to accomplish their goals. Jeremiah and Sheila enjoyed trips in this country and abroad including India, Ireland, New Zealand, Greece, Indonesia and other interesting places. Inspired by his mother, he was a voracious reader of history, current events and science of many kinds. He liked playing with his children and granddaughter, and the cats, who shared their home. Summers in La Jolla, California provided Jeremiah and his family a chance to enjoy beaches and beautiful San Diego.

He received his Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University in 1964, after receiving a BS in physics as an Alfred P Sloan Scholar in 1960 from Carnegie Institute of Technology, now Carnegie Mellon University.

Professor Sullivan spent his postdoctoral years as a research associate in the theoretical physics group at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). In 1967 he joined the Physics Department at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. His career began as an associate professor, and he became a professor in 1973.

He retired in July 2006 from the University of Illinois as the Head of the Department of Physics, a position he held for six years. In 1974, Professor Sullivan began what ultimately developed into his major research direction when he accepted an invitation to become a member of JASON, a group of scientists who provide expert technical analyses to the U.S. government on scientific issues relevant to national security. Each summer, until 2011, he spent six weeks working with the JASON group and contributed greatly to its success. In addition to his JASON work, Professor Sullivan also lent his expertise to a number of other important studies and reviews that have played key roles in the evolution of U.S. defense policy over the past twenty years.

In the early years of his career, Professor Sullivan made significant contributions to particle physics. His work earned him an international reputation and led to his selection for influential committee work including: a