Thieves took likeness of Nobel-Prize-winning professor July 11

Monday, August 4, 2003

Jens Zorn figures the lifesize bronze bust is probably sitting in a dorm room somewhere on the University of Michigan campus, snatched as a prank by a thief or thieves who thought it would make a neat souvenir.

Whoever took the bust of Martinus Veltman, a former U-M physics professor and 1999 Nobel Prize winner, may not know its value, Zorn says. He hopes the thieves will return it before they get busted by police on possible felony charges.

"It's important for them to realize this is not just a casual thing, but it's important to us," said Zorn, a physics professor.

U-M is offering a $500 reward for the return of the sculpture, which was stolen from its pedestal in the leafy courtyard between Randall Lab and West Hall on July 11.

The bust is valued at more than $15,000, said U-M spokeswoman Diane Brown, who said she wouldn't be surprised if it turns up tomorrow, sometime next year, or not at all.

"These kinds of things are hard to predict," Brown said.

The bust of Veltman was installed on a pedestal in the courtyard in May after it was cast from a mold commissioned by the Netherlands government and created by a Dutch sculptor.

Veltman won the Nobel Prize in physics for work he did in the Netherlands with Gerardus 't Hooft in the early 1970s on the structure and motion of subatomic particles. Veltman joined the U-M physics faculty in the early 1980s, retired in the late 1990s, and is now teaching in the Netherlands.

"It is important that visitors to campus have a sense of what's been achieved by people here," said Zorn, noting that many people walk through the courtyard every day. "And the fact that he won the Nobel Prize, of course, is an unambiguous recognition of his distinction. The fact he was a member of our faculty is something we were very proud of."

It appears the thief or thieves grabbed the bust by giving it a good yank. Zorn said it was secured to the pedestal by a bolt underneath. A metal pin was also installed to resist rotation and prevent people from twisting the head off.

"That was thought to be sufficient by the people who designed it, but in retrospect, we see it wasn't," Zorn said.

Zorn said the bust's value to anyone else is much less than the university paid for it. He estimates the salvage value of the bronze at $50, tops.

"The sculpture is an excellent one, but its value as art at a local cash sale is surely quite modest. They've probably had their kicks out of it by now, and it would be wonderful if we could get it back."

Four U-M departments are offering the reward: physics, the president's office, risk management and the Department of Public Safety.

The office of U-M President Mary Sue Coleman sent Veltman, 72, a message informing him of the theft.

"He was obviously disappointed, but not as enraged as I thought he would be," Zorn said.

Anyone with information on the theft of the bust is asked to call Sgt. Robert Soichet of U-M's Department of Public Safety at (734) 763-3434. U-M's anonymous tip line is 1-800-863-1355.

Jo Collins Mathis can be reached at jmathis@annarbornews.com or (734) 994-6849.