Larry Shaw

Lawrence N. Shaw (August 12, 1939 – August 19, 2017) was an American physicist, curator, and artist. Shaw worked at the Exploratorium, a San Francisco science museum, for 33 years, performing just about every function for the museum. He was a key member of the arts and technology community in the San Francisco Bay Area. Early and personal life Lawrence N. Shaw was born in Washington, D.C., on August 12, 1939, to Wilfred L. Shaw and Ida W. Shaw. Larry's father worked for the Department of Agriculture. The family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in California when he was a year-and-a-half toddler. Larry Shaw graduated from Pleasant Hill High School and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics from Reed College in Portland, Oregon in 1961. It was at Reed where he met his future wife, Catherine Adams. They were married in 1963 and had two daughters, now Dr. Tara Shaw in sports medicine, and Dr. Sara Shaw, a veterinarian. Larry and Catherine celebrated their wedding anniversary 54 times on the "full moon in June" and would have a "re-wedding" every seven years, because the "body has pretty much become new every seven years." Career Before Larry Shaw started at the Exploratorium, he worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory in physics-related jobs.