ROGOFF, Dr Gerald L. Of Framingham, MA, 71, died Wed., Dec. 8 in Framingham. He was the son of the late Samuel and Diana (Olderman) Rogoff. Devoted husband to Elizabeth (Preston) Rogoff of Framingham, Loving brother to Myrna Zoll of NY, NY. and uncle to Amy Zoll of Philadelphia PA, and David Zoll of Albany, NY. Dr Rogoff earned a PhD at MIT in Physics and was a physicist and researcher for Westinghouse Research Labs in Pittsburgh, PA and for GTE in Waltham, MA and later Osram Sylvania in Danvers, MA where he retired with 30 years of research in the lighting industry. His last position was a visiting scientist at MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center in Cambridge. Dr. Rogoff was a member of IEEE; American Physical Society; and AOPA as a private pilot. At the request of his family no services will be held. In Lieu of flowers Mrs. Rogoff has made a special request for all to donate blood to your local medical facility or make a contribution in memory of Dr. Rogoff to Dana Farber or NPR (National Public Radio). Wadsworth-Chiappini Funeral Home 508-875-8541

Published in The Boston Globe on December12. 2010

BOB BUDNITZ writes:  My Yale roommate GERRY ROGOFF died on December 7, 2010.  We had a lot in common: both of us majored in physics, both went to the Boston area for graduate school (Gerry to MIT, myself to Harvard), we both earned physics Ph.Ds, and our wives had been roommates at Simmons!  (We joked for years about how we had switched roommates, which was true enough.)  I was the best man at his wedding in 1962.  He is survived by his wife Betsy, a counseling psychologist.  She continues to live in Framingham MA.  Gerry had quite a distinguished physics career, working first for Westinghouse and then for Sylvania on plasma-discharge physics, an important field with many industrial applications in which he made some major contributions and became nationally prominent.  He was the sweetest, gentlest, most considerate, nicest guy I've known.