Stony Brook physicist Michael Marx, 65

Michael Marx, a physicist at Stony Brook University known for his passion for teaching and science, died of cancer Aug. 2 at his Port Jefferson home. He was 65.

Marx, who held several posts at the university over 31 years, was the liaison between the university and Brookhaven National Laboratory. Since 2008, he held the title of the university's associate vice president for BNL affairs.

Marx was an assistant physicist at the lab starting in 1975, working on numerous experiments there, and joined Stony Brook's faculty in 1980.

Stony Brook president Dr. Samuel L. Stanley Jr. said Marx's devotion to, and long history with, both institutions made him an "honest broker" for both sides. Stony Brook comanages the lab with Batelle Memorial Institute, based in Columbus, Ohio.

Stanley said Marx was named liaison after the university realized "we weren't fully working together to the extent that we could," citing the need for creating joint faculty appointments and project collaborations. "The beautiful thing was he was respected by both sides," Stanley said.

Describing his friend of 35 years, BNL director Sam Aronson said Marx was a "big-hearted man with a great sense of humor" and "deep knowledge about science across a broad spectrum."

Marx, while an associate dean at Stony Brook, also served as deputy to Aronson during the construction phase of the PHENIX Experiment from 1996-2000, which utilizes the relativistic heavy ion collider.

SEE PHOTOSNotable deaths: Long Islanders we recently lost

"It's one of the biggest nuclear physics experiments in the world," which helps scientists learn about the "very early moments" of the universe, Aronson said.

Marx was involved, along with Aronson, in designing the PHENIX device, an apparatus that Aronson said weighs several thousand tons, has millions of electronic components, and was assembled in laboratories all over the world, then brought to Brookhaven.

"Integrating all of that equipment together, in conformance with the design we made, and make it all work together. That's one of Mike's big contributions with the experiment."

Marx earned a bachelor of science degree at City College of New York in 1967, and a doctorate in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1974. He was a fellow of the American Physical Society.

SEE PHOTOSRecent notable deaths

Marx's survivors include his wife, Lynn Liebert Marx; children, Vincent, Teresa, Clara, Rachel, Miriam and Richard, all of Port Jefferson; and sister, Susan Tabin, of Greensboro, N.C.

Funeral services were private. But Stony Brook plans to hold a memorial service in October and has established a scholarship in Marx's name to offer fellowships to graduate students involved in collaborative research with the lab. Donations may be made to: Michael Marx Memorial Fund, c/o Brian Woods, 488 Administration Building, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11790.