Francis E. Low, 85, MIT physicist

Francis E. Low, 85, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist and provost whose life included work on the atomic bomb, a passion for music, and a stint as an Army mule driver, died of heart failure yesterday at the Quadrangle, a retirement community in Haverford.

As provost from 1980 to 1985, Dr. Low established a viable role for the humanities at MIT, his daughter Margaret Low Smith said. He encouraged liberal arts courses for the engineering, mathematics and science students, she said, and believed physicists could also be philosophers.

He was particularly proud, she said, that during his term as provost, MIT became affiliated with the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.

Dr. Low joined the physics department of MIT in 1957. He directed the school's Center for Theoretical Physics and its Laboratory for Nuclear Science before becoming provost for five years. Afterward, he returned to teaching.

He retired in 1991, but continued to teach physics for a few more years.

He was a founding member of the Union of Concerned Scientists in 1969. He was briefly chairman of the union, but stepped down because he disagreed with members who refused to consider studying whether nuclear reactors could be made safe and reliable.

After the death of his wife, Natalie Sadigur Low, on Valentine's Day 2004, he moved from their home in Belmont, Mass., to Haverford to be near his family.

The couple met on a blind date, and married in 1948. They were introduced by a mutual friend who later said she wanted "her prettiest friend to meet her smartest friend."

Dr. Low grew up in Manhattan. His father was a mining engineer and his mother was a physician. Both parents had strong ties to Europe and their only son completed his secondary education at the International School in Geneva. He earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Harvard University in 1942.

During World War II, he briefly worked on the Manhattan Project, the secret effort to develop the atom bomb, but he wanted to see action. He left the project, volunteered with the Army, and served with the 10th Mountain Division in Europe. The Division had units on skis in the Po Valley in Italy, but because he could not ski, he was given a job as mule driver. He later became an artillery surveyor, and helped direct fire. After the war, he became an excellent skier, his family said.

After his discharge, Dr. Low earned a doctorate in physics from Columbia University in 1950 and then did postdoctoral work at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He joined the faculty at the University of Illinois in Urbana in 1952, and after spending a year at MIT as a visiting professor in 1956 he joined the faculty.

Dr. Low had a pilot's license. He enjoyed flying and was a "fierce" tennis player, his daughter said.

Also, he was a gifted pianist, and once considered a career as a concert pianist.

In addition to his daughter, he is survived by another daughter, Julie; a son, Peter; and six grandsons.

Burial is private.

A memorial service at MIT will be scheduled at a later date.