University of Texas
Claude Wendell Horton Jr.
February 2, 1942–July 10, 2025

 

 

 

Claude Wendell Horton Jr. was born on February 3, 1942, in Houston, TX, to Claude Wendell Horton Sr. and Louise Walthal Horton. His father was a highly respetedd professor of physics at the University of Texas at Austin and served as chair. Wendell's sibling was Margaret Elaine (Morefield). Wendell attend Stephen F. Austin High School in Austin, TX, graduating in 1960. He enrolled in physics at the University of Texas where he was Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated with a BS in 1963. Following graduation and his marriage to high school sweetheart, Elisabeth Alice "Libby" Becker a math major, they spent the summer in Midland, Texas, where Wendell worked as a geophysicist for Pan American Petroleum Corporation.

In the fall, the couple moved to La Jolla, CA, where Wendell entered graduate school at University of California at San Diego. Libby worked as a programmer. Wendell earned a M.S. (1965) and a Ph.D. (1967) His dissertation, supervised by Marshall N. Rosenbluth, was entitled, "Propagation and Reflection of the Loss-cone Mode in an Inhomogenious Plasma". Following graduation, he joined the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton  (1967-69). He was recruited by the University of Texas Physics Department as an Associate Professor in 1969, becoming a professor in 1977. In 1980, he was one of the founding members of the Institute for Fusion Studies.

He became a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1983 and was awarded an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship in 1975. He was the author/editor of six books and published over 240 papers. His research centered on theory and simulations of drift wave turbulence and anomalous transport in plasmas, nonlinear dynamics and chaos, magnetospheric and ionospheric physics, solar physics, and plasma astrophysics.

Wendell's knowledge of physics was encyclopedic. Dave Ross relayed a comment made by Marshall Rosenbluth, a giant in plasma physics, "Marshall said he had a dream that he had forgotten all of his physics, however he didn't worry because Wendell could teach him all of it again."

Beginning in 1987, due to significant declines in US government funding of fusion research as a potential alternative energy source, Wendell began to pursue research in space weather and the prediction of solar storms using chaos and plasma theory to model the magnetosphere which  is characterized by an extremely collisionless plasma making available new plasma transport regimes well beyond those existing in laboratory plasmas.

Wendell and Libby have two sons; John Horton and Mike A. Horton and six grandchildren.. In September of 2007, Wendell’s beloved wife, Libby, lost her battle with breast cancer. In 2010, Wendell met Meiling Lung Newman of Austin, she was a member of the Lung family, celebrated for its restaurants in Austin. They were married April 17, 2010. The two of them travelled widely following Wendell's retirement.

Wendell retired in ? He passed away in Austin, July 10, 2025.

Obiturary for Claude Wendell Horton, Jr., Austin American Statesman July 20, 2025.

Dr. Claude Wendell Horton Jr passed away at the Westminster Senior Living Facility on Thursday July 10, 2025. Born in Houston, Texas on Feb 3rd 1942, Wendell was the son of Claude Wendell Horton Sr. and Louise Walthall Horton. As a child, Wendell battled and overcame Polio, a common disease at the time.

Wendell graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School in 1960. He graduated with a degree in Physics from the University of Texas at Austin on June 1, 1963. On June 8th, 1963, he married his high school sweetheart Elisabeth Alice (Libby) Horton who he met in an Austin High Physics class. 

Wendell’s interest in nuclear fusion grew during his graduate studies at the University of California at San Diego. He was inspired by the enormous potential of controlled fusion reactions to generate cheap, clean, and sustainable energy on an unprecedented and inexhaustible scale i.e., human generated ‘Star Power’. Wendell earned his PhD at UCSD under Marshall Rosenbluth, a scientist who had worked on the Manhattan Project and a close protégé of Edward Teller. Wendell has published or edited thirteen books on the theoretical basis for plasma containment and transport, and co-authored over 200 papers. A frequently cited book is “Chaos and Structures in Nonlinear Plasmas” ISBN 81-7764-234-0. 

In September of 2007, Wendell’s beloved wife Libby lost her battle with breast cancer. After a dark period of depression, Wendell met Meiling Lung Newman of Austin, Texas. Meiling is also the surviving spouse of a victim of cancer. With a shared passion in travel, food, and the Texas Hill Country, the couple fell in love. He was married to Meiling on April 17, 2010. Wendell and Meiling spent significant time living in the south of France while working on the engineering megaproject known as ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor). Wendell co-authored his final book titled ITER Physics in 2015. 

Wendell is survived by his second wife Meiling Lung Newman; his son John Horton and John’s children Jaclyn, Jayna, and Joe Horton; his youngest son Mike Horton; his wife Melissa Horton and Mike’s children Mica, Maya and, Makayla Horton.

Wendell will be remembered as a loving husband and strong-willed father who lived a high-energy and full life. His enduring love of Theoretical Physics inspired countless undergraduate and graduate students to become engineers, mathematicians, scientists, and teachers.

Visitation will be held on August 2nd, 5:00 to 7:00pm at the Weed-Corley-Fish funeral home at 5416 Parkcrest Dr. Austin, TX. The Funeral Service will be held on August 3rd, 12:00pm at First English Lutheran Church at 3001 Whitis Avenue.

 

 

Wendell Horton Photo Album

 

 

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