Nicholas DiGiacomo, physicist, dies at 58

WHEN IT COMES to scientific disciplines, studying avalanches would be hard to categorize.'

But that was Nicholas DiGiacomo's favorite preoccupation. And he was in the perfect place to observe the scary phenomenon - the mountains of Colorado.

Nick, whose day jobs involved nuclear physics, antimatter, particle colliders and his service as a science adviser to President Ronald Reagan, died March 9 of complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease). He was 58 and lived in Telluride, Colo.

He was born in Philadelphia to Nicolo and Marie DiGiacomo, and graduated from Monsignor Bonner High School, in Upper Darby.

After he left the area, Nick traveled far and wide to pursue both his professional work and adventures that included skiing, mountain climbing, surfing, photography, and others, making friends all over the world.

He settled in Telluride in 2001 after retiring.

He set about to explore the glories and challenges of the San Juan Mountains in Colorado, where peaks reach 14,000 feet. He climbed them and skiied down their slopes.

As an avalanche expert, he made a presentation to the 2006 International Snow Science Workshop in Telluride, where he showed the many photos he took of the phenomenon.

This dedicated outdoorsman and adventurer also tested his skills in the Grand Canyon of Arizona, the Wind River Range in Wyoming, the Cascades in the Northwest, Chamonix in the French Alps and Patagonia in Argentina.

Nick graduated from Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y., with a bachelor's in physics. He earn his master's and Ph.D in physics from the University of Colorado.

As a professional physisist, he specialized in exploring the fundamental laws of the universe, including nuclear and antimatter research.

He was involved in the early stages of particle accelerators in this country and the European Organization for Nuclear Research, in Geneva, where the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest particle accelerator, was developed to answer some of the questions of the nature of matter.

He also worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and as a senior associate of George A. Keyworth, Reagan's science adviseor.

Nick also worked as a senior executive for Lockheed Martin, Science Applications International, a security firm; Scient, an Internet consulting company; Sawyer Media Systems and Vanno.com.

With these companies, he led various projects, including the development of the first e-commerce security standards and the development of standards for the Secure Digital Music Initiative.

"Nick was always ready to analyze and debate any and every issue, from the scientific to politics to the cultural," his family said. "To his last days, he was a keen and voracious observer of the world around him."

Nick was devoted to his Siberian husky, Ruby.

He is survived by his wife, Susan; his ex-wife, Susanne Morgan; his father, Nicolo DiGiacomo, and several sisters.

Services: A memorial service will be held this summer.

Donations may be made to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, 325 Broadway St., Boulder, CO 80305.