Paul Benioff

Paul Benioff passed away peacefully in his sleep at home on March 29th, 2022. Paul was widely recognized for his groundbreaking and highly prolific research at Argonne National Laboratory on the fundamental relationship between mathematics and physics. He conducted seminal work on quantum computing that first established quantum computation as a theoretical possibility. He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather who treasured his family and friends. Paul's deep curiosity and passion for nature, gardening, and the mystery of our universe inspired all in his life. Paul was born May 1,1930 in Pasadena California to Hugo and Alice Benioff (nee Silverman). When he was 6 his family built a cabin in the Mammoth Lakes area of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where he then spent almost every summer of his life. This inspired a deep love and passion for hiking in the mountains of California. He is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years, Hanna Benioff (nee Leshner), and his children Leora Benioff, Ron Benioff ,and Ilana Speckmann as well as 7 grandchildren – Cate, Chava, Clara, Talia, Sierra, Brendan, and Marissa, two sisters – Elena Slusser and Dagmar Friedman, and a half sister – Martha Benioff. The family requests that donations be made to the Sierra Club in Paul's honor.