Peter Lindenfeld, 100, of the Stonebridge community in Skillman, New Jersey and of Princeton where he resided for 65 years, died peacefully on November 21, 2025 while holding the hands of his children, Tom and Naomi. Born on March 10, 1925 in Vienna, Austria, Peter was the son of Bela and Elda (nee Lachs) Lindenfeld who were Austrian physicians. Peter was a retired professor emeritus of physics at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, having taught there for over 45 years.

Peter and his parents were driven from Austria by the German annexation of March, 1938. Shortly thereafter he spent time at the Sanitorium des Enfants in Switzerland while recovering from tuberculosis, then went with his mother in England. They made their way to the Sooke Harbor House on Vancouver Island courtesy of a Canadian agricultural visa. Peter went to high school in Vancouver and to the University of British Columbia where he earned a Bachelors and Masters in Engineering. Peter came to the United States to attend graduate school at Columbia University where he earned his Doctorate in Physics.

While studying at Columbia, Peter lived at International House and became an observer of the lively New York City art scene of the early 1950s. At a John Cage "happening" at the Eighth Street Club he met his future wife Lore Kadden, a textile artist and graduate of the avant garde Black Mountain College in North Carolina. Peter and Lore married May 31, 1953. Lore Lindenfeld died in 2010.

Peter became a full professor at Rutgers University in 1966 and retired in 1999. His research focus was on solid state superconductivity. However, his real passion was for making physics accessible to non physics majors.

Peter's sabbaticals included time at Oxford in England, Tirupati in India, University of Paris D'Orsay and at Kyoto University in Japan. He was a fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the American Association of Physics Teachers/AAPT. He received the 1988 Warren I. Sussman Award for Excellence in Teaching at Rutgers. In 1989 the American Association of Physics Teachers awarded him the Robert A. Millikan award for "notable and creative contributions to the teaching of physics." In 2001, Rutgers created an endowed chair in his name in Experimental Condensed-Matter Physics. In 2011 Rutgers University Press published Physics, The First Science, which Peter co-wrote with Suzanne White Brahmia.

In the 1960s, Peter and Lore sent their children to the Quaker Farm and Wilderness Camps in Plymouth Union, Vermont. They fell in love with the area and bought a modest, three-room cottage in nearby Barnard where they spent their summers walking along Bowman Road, visiting the Barnard General Store, and swimming in Silver Lake.

Peter was informed and devoted to the traditions and culture of his Jewish faith, yet he also enjoyed a wider philosophical worldview.

Peter was a social human being to the core, taking real interest in the lives of others, bringing his subtle and gentle sense of humor to the task, and keeping the focus on others. He supported Lore in her textile industry career and her later weaving and teaching career. He enthusiastically followed Tom's career as a political consultant. He championed Naomi's work as a potter and ceramics teacher.

Peter was active in many social justice causes. He was a founding member of the Princeton Community Democratic Organization, and remained its secretary for decades.

During the last 15 years, he shared his active life with his partner, Mary Clurman, who died this past August. He also quickly engaged in the Stonebridge community in the last two and a half years which celebrated him at his 100th birthday party this past March.

Peter was a collector of pre-Columbian, Ashanti and other art, collected ancient Arabic and Judaic coins, was a music appreciator and played recorder with the Princeton Recorder Society. Peter spoke German, French, English, Hebrew, Arabic, Japanese and some Russian. Peter and Lore were so intrigued with Japanese culture that they visited there several times. He loved photography, mycology, book making, origami, officiating weddings and collecting and keeping in touch with his many friends.

Peter is survived by his son Tom and his partner Becky Leise of Princeton, New Jersey, his daughter Naomi and her husband Michael Bosworth of Brattleboro, Vermont, and his grandson Sam Lindenfeld of Brooklyn, New York.

Peter's memoir was just published: A Century in the Making – A Hundred-Year Journey from Refugee to American by Flare Books. He worked on it until his final days. (website: PeterLindenfeld.com)

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 17th, 2026 at 10:30am in the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Rd. All who knew Peter and his family are invited. To offer condolences, visit thekimblefuneralhome.com. To make contributions in Peter's honor, please consider either the Princeton Community Democratic Organization princetondempsit.wixsite.com or Sustainable Princeton at sustainableprinceton.org to honor his support for the Guyot Walk restoration project.