In Memoriam: Hector C. Mireles

Physics and Astronomy Department Chair Hector Mireles passed away on Friday, September 16, after a 14-month battle with cancer. He was 56 years old.

Mireles joined the University in 2002. He attained his BS in physics from UC Irvine and his Ph.D. from University of Texas at Austin and was a doctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Dynamics in Gottingen, Germany.

In 2016 Mireles stepped into the role of department chair. Like most of his endeavors, he excelled at it and enjoyed supporting his fellow faculty. He also served on the Dean’s strategic leadership team and the CPP Academic Senate.

“A lot of the things he started are bearing fruit now,” interim co-chair Alex Small said. Mireles was involved in the recent hiring of four faculty. Under his leadership the department conducted lab renovations and started an industry advisory board. He also expanded the role of faculty from different ranks.

Small added, “We had to make a lot of tough decisions, but I always had his support.”

Physics faculty felt that support when in the Spring of 2020 the department had to move labs online. Mireles pitched in, purchased equipment, and helped create videos for the online content.

His friendly support didn’t stop at the classroom. When Small told Mireles he was going to his first opera, he was given tapes of lectures about that opera so Small would be prepared. Mireles was a fan of German opera, and was a talented pianist and tenor with the choir at Cathedral of Los Angeles. 

Mireles had a way of connecting with people over shared interests, in addition to being a physicist, a musician and singer, he was also a photographer, and a pilot.

When he met mathematics faculty Arlo Caine in 2011, they immediately bonded over flying. Because of family and work demands, both were short on flight hours. They made a pact to fly together which made them better pilots and close friends. Together, they circumnavigated the Sierra Nevadas and published an article about their experience in Air Facts Journal.

“He had the ability to connect with people and bring them together,” Caine said. “He was a statesman and had a flare for oratory. He was a performer and could connect with students, sometimes using Spanish slang, or jokes as he taught.” His wit was legendary, and he could make puns in German, Spanish, or English.

“Hector took great pride in mentoring Latinx students, who could see themselves in him,” Caine said. Mireles also served as secretary for the National Society for Hispanic Physicists.

“I’m glad he was there. Hector was one of my role models,” said alumnus Angel Martinez (’09, physics). Martinez confides that he wasn’t the best student at CPP but had great enthusiasm for physics and would talk with Mireles during office hours. He suggested Martinez do a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) on soft matter at University of Colorado Boulder where Mireles was going for a sabbatical.

The REU made him a better student. He earned his Ph.D. and is now Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Physics and Materials Science at Northern Arizona University. “I owe a lot to him,” said Martinez.

Alumnus Anatol Hoemke (’06, physics) said Mireles encouraged him apply to work as a CPP physics technician. He’s now the lab manager for the physics department at LMU. “I likely wouldn't be in my current career if not for him,” Hoemke said.

“Mireles was a champion for underserved students and that included women in physics,” said interim co-chair Nina Abramzon. He supported her efforts in co-hosting the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics at CPP in 2018. He also held monthly luncheons for women in the physics department.

“Hector had a strong need to serve and being a department chair allowed him to do that,” Abramzon said. “He was one of the people who interviewed me and was helpful in bringing me here.”

Hector Mireles was more than a professor and department chair. He was a friend to staff, faculty, and students.

He is survived by his wife Pilar Diaz Mireles, children Sebastian 12, and Clarissa, 9, parents Raquel and Ramon, siblings Luis Ramon, Ricardo, and Lucia Mireles-Chavez.

The family shared that those who wish to honor Hector’s memory with a gift can make it to St. Jude, dedicated in his name: https://www.stjude.org/donate/family.html