Stanford physicist James “bj” Bjorken was one of the most influential theoretical physicists of the modern era. His insight into deep inelastic electron–proton scattering revealed that protons contain smaller constituents — what we now know as quarks. That idea helped launch the modern understanding of the structure of matter and shaped generations of experiments in particle physics.

But to those who knew him personally, bj was far more than a brilliant scientist. He was deeply generous with his time and mentorship. During the 1980s, while working at Fermilab, bj opened his home monthly to graduate students and postdocs for cookouts. He was truly a rock star in physics, yet he made a point of welcoming young scientists into his home, helping shape careers that now span universities and laboratories around the world.

I was fortunate to know bj personally. We met weekly during his last years — often at Alice’s Restaurant — where we talked about physics, life, family, and the ideas he was exploring. To honor bj’s life and legacy, we are raising funds to build a memorial bench at Alice’s Restaurant in the Santa Cruz mountains where bj was a beloved regular. The bench will be crafted from old-growth redwood and built by local metalsmith Bill Sorich. His work spans copper, bronze, stainless steel, and wrought iron. A component of the bench will be a stainless steel Feynman diagram of electron–proton deep inelastic scattering — the process that bj helped interpret and that revealed the quark structure of matter. The bench will also include an engraved plaque honoring bj and the things he loved most.

Please join us in honoring bj’s memory.