Po-zen Wong, of Amherst, died on Monday, October 16, 2017. He was just shy of 65 years old.

Born in Shanghai, China, on November 6, 1952, Po-zen moved to Hong Kong at the age of 4, where he stayed until he graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong with B.S. in Physics. Upon graduating, he moved to the United States to pursue his Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Chicago, which he completed in 1981. After several years with the Schlumberger-Doll Research Center, he began teaching in the Physics Department at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1988. At UMass, he was known as a creative and tenacious condensed matter experimentalist who worked largely in soft matter physics (a new field at the time), and as a challenging, interesting, and influential teacher, mentor and colleague with a lot to say about physics and life.

After retiring from UMass in 2007, Po-zen turned his attention to another passion of his: Chinese art. His late father, Nan-Ping Wong, had been an art collector, and Po-zen channeled his energy and intellect into becoming an expert in Chinese art, and a collector himself. In 2013, he published his first article about Chinese art—becoming a published author in two very distinct fields.

Po-zen is survived by his wife, Chiu-wun, and his daughters, Joyce and Stephanie Wong, who love and miss him deeply. Po-zen’s life will be celebrated in a private memorial service on October 25, 2017. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to NEPR, 1525 Main Street, Springfield, MA 01103.