Adrian Patrascioiu

A UA physics professor, who was described by his family as having "a beautiful mind," died early Saturday morning after a two-month battle with a rare cancer.

Adrian Patrascioiu, a professor of physics at the University of Arizona since 1977, died early Saturday morning at University Medical Center after battling a lymphoma that doctors had never been able to diagnose.

Patrascioiu taught mostly senior-level physics courses - including mathematical methods for physics, which he was scheduled to teach this semester until his illness forced him to take sick leave.

Patrascioiu's son, J.C., described his father's journey from Romania to the U.S. as an adventure.

J.C. said his father swam across the Adriatic Sea to Italy from his home country of Romania because he wanted to get away from the Communist government. He said his father came to the United States with $5 in his pocket and very little knowledge of English.

Patrascioiu received his U.S. citizenship in 1971 and went on to receive his doctorate from MIT in theoretical physics in 1972.

J.C. said the lead character in the movie "A Beautiful Mind" was an exact replica of his father.

"He was exactly like the character in the movie," he said. "He was always trying to figure stuff out and was always kind of bothered with the world that was going on around him."

The movie "A Beautiful Mind" is about John Nash, a Nobel Prize winner who was always thinking to solve problems that baffled the greatest minds.

Patrascioiu's research interests were not in any sense limited.

"He had many interests," said UA physics department head Daniel Stein. "His main research focused on quantum field theory," or the study of the interaction between the particles that make up the nucleus in an atom. "And he was interested in other things as well - like chaos theory and quantum mechanics."

A recipient of several National Science Foundation grants throughout his career, Patrascioiu worked on international collaborations between the United States and other countries - including his native Romania, the subject of a 1985 grant in mathematical physics.

He was also a Stanislaw M. Ulam scholar from 1985-1986 and a Sloan fellow from 1980-1982. In 1993, he received the Alexander von Humboldt award for senior U.S. scientists.

"Adrian was never one to accept conventional wisdom," Stein said. "He looked beneath the surface to try to find out what went into a belief or theory. He tried to understand it himself at a very deep level, and not just accept it."

"He was a very private person but also very generous. He was an inspiration for many people and at the same time a very warm and kind person," Stein said.

Both Stein and J.C. said Patrascioiu looked to be in perfect health before being admitted into University Medical Center in January.

Stein said he would regularly see him at the Student Recreation Center working out. J.C. also said his father was an avid skier.

"Even on a wounded leg, he would ski like he was floating down the slopes," he said.

Patrascioiu is survived by his wife of 25 years, Emilie, and two children, J.C. and Leslie, who all live in Phoenix.

An open memorial service to celebrate Patrascioiu's life and career is planned for sometime next month and is to be held on campus, Stein said.

J.C. said his father's ashes will be spread in San Carlos, Mexico or in Romania, pending approval from authorities.