Joseph (Joe) Anthony Thie, Ph.D., peacefully passed away May 23 at Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville.
Dr. Thie, age 95, lived a successful life in his career as an internationally known nuclear physicist and in his positive example of character, humility, faith, and humanity.
Preceding Dr. Thie in death were his parents, Joseph Thie Sr. and Veronica Volk Thie; brothers Julius and John Thie; sister Mary Ann Seufert; and brothers-in-law Cliff Seufert, Gus Jonas, and Don McHolland.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 56 years, Fran Thie; sisters Therese McHolland, Martha Thie, and Cecelia Turner; brother-in-law Dick Turner; and numerous nieces and nephews along with their families.
Dr. Thie was born in Indianapolis, attended Little Flower Elementary School and Cathedral High School. At Cathedral he was recognized as a brilliant student who attained the highest scholastic record in the school’s history.
Through the assistance from Brothers of the Holy Cross, Dr. Thie received a full scholarship to Notre Dame University at the end of his junior year at Cathedral. In 1947, when he returned as valedictorian of his high school class, he already had acquired one and a half years of college credits.
Dr. Thie, at age 19, graduated from Notre Dame magna cum laude with a degree in physics. He then earned his Ph.D. in nuclear physics at age 23. He briefly studied at the University of Chicago. As an Atomic Energy Commission Graduate Fellow, he did post-doctoral research in theoretical physics at Cornell University under the direction of Hans Bethe, a future Nobel Prize honoree in physics.
After starting his career teaching at the University of Dayton, Dr. Thie joined Argonne National Laboratory as a research physicist. At Argonne, he was the chief design group leader for development of America’s first boiling-water reactor, which became the prototype for today’s modern nuclear reactors.
Later, Dr. Thie became an independent consultant in nuclear physics and nuclear medicine.
He served on various scientific committees and boards, assisted in research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was an adjunct professor of nuclear engineering at the University of
Tennessee, and collaborated with doctors at several research hospitals. He remained active in his profession even during retirement, including volunteering to do research along with hospital medical staff primarily in diagnostic oncology.
Dr. Thie represented the United States as a delegate to two United Nations Atoms for Peace conferences (1958 and 1964) in Geneva, Switzerland, and at the 1968 Japanese-American Nuclear Conference in Tokyo. He has lectured internationally on subjects such as nuclear reactor design, safety diagnosis, and dynamic processes. He has a large body of published work, including several books and numerous papers based on original research in nuclear power and nuclear medicine, many of which were presented at professional meetings.
Dr. Thie has received several honors, including distinguished alumni awards from schools he attended and an honorary doctor of science degree from the University of Indianapolis. He was a member of the American Nuclear Society, the Society of Nuclear Medicine, and Mensa.
Many of Dr. Thie’s peers considered him a pioneer in the early days of commercial nuclear reactors, especially in his research on nuclear random phenomena, often called “nuclear noise.” His first book addressed this topic specifically, which caused fellow scientists to refer to him as the “Father of Noise.”
Research and science did not consume all of Dr. Thie’s life. He also was a talented musician who was an accomplished pianist and marimba player. He was an amateur tap dancer in his younger years and later combined that talent with his knowledge of analytics and wrote two books on the mathematics of choreography.
Dr. Thie always was there when a family member needed him, and he became a model for nieces and nephews on how to lead a meaningful, faith-based, successful life.
He was active in his parish and the Diocese of Knoxville, having served on the board of trustees of the Diocesan Catholic Education Trust Fund and as a member of his parish St. Vincent de Paul Society.
A funeral Mass was held at St. John Neumann Church in Farragut on June 7.
