Jan Francis Herbst

Jan Francis Herbst of Sedona, Arizona died peacefully on January 21, 2025 at the age of 77.

Born on May 1, 1947 in Tucson, Arizona, Jan obtained his BA and MS degrees in physics at the University of Pennsylvania in 1968. Under Dr. John Wilkins, he earned his PhD in theoretical physics at Cornell University in 1974.

After a National Research Council Postdoc at the National Bureau of Standards and a short stay at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Jan joined General Motors in 1977 where he spent the rest of his career. Starting as a research physicist, he became group leader, section manager and principal research scientist.

Much of Jan’s research focused on rare earth materials, which have both fundamental interest and are important for permanent magnets used in General Motors vehicles. He led a program aimed at the discovery and development of novel hard magnet materials. One hallmark of that research was the discovery of Nd2Fe14B, a previously unknown ternary compound that is replacing SmCo5 as the world’s premier hard magnet material. His other activities included research on a new class of magnetoelastic materials, namely, magnetostrictive composites, and work on materials for hydrogen storage.

Jan gave many invited talks, and with collaborators published more than 120 papers and had 19 patents. Among other awards, he received the International Prize for New Materials from the American Physical Society in 1986 for research on rare earth-iron-boron materials, which led to the discovery of a new class of permanent magnets.

Jan was a Fellow of the American Physical Society, served on the Nominating Committee, and was Secretary-Treasurer, Division of Condensed Matter Physics.

Jan enjoyed his retirement in Sedona, was active on the board of his homeowners’ association, and appreciated the natural beauty of Arizona when walking, hiking, birdwatching, gold panning, and even planting trees he grew and nurtured from seedlings. He used his time in retirement to indulge his love of family activities, reading, cultural events, and home projects. He likewise took pleasure in visiting family and friends and in new discoveries through travel with his family.

Jan was preceded in death by his son, John Herbst. He is survived by his wife, Margaret Herbst; daughters, Helen Herbst of Sedona and Mary Herbst of Washington; brother, Paul Herbst, as well as many nieces, nephews and extended family members.

 Memorial contributions may be made in Jan’s name to American Heart Association, American Lung Association, or a charity of your choice.