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The Norman J Field Lectures in Science were established in 1991 in memory of Dr. Norman J Field.
Born in New York City, Field received a bachelor's degree from City College of New York and a master's degree in physics from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. He received an honorary doctorate from Monmouth University in 1979.
Field served in the Army in World War II, and was a civilian delegate to the Association of the United States Army.
He maintained a lifelong personal and professional interest in scientific issues, and worked as a Staff Physicist at Ft. Monmouth and as a Lecturer in Physics at Monmouth University.
In 1946 Field married the former Gladys Katz, and in 1949 they settled in Tinton Falls, New Jersey (then called New Shrewsbury), where he lived until his death. They had four children: Joan Lakin of Hamden, CT, Ken Field of Cambridge, MA, Richard Field of Cliffside Park, NJ, and Elaine Field of Wilmington, DE.
Dr. Field was widely recognized for his contributions in the area of public education, not only locally, but at the county, state, and federal levels as well. His knowledge of school issues covered a range of topics, from curriculum and staffing to federal aid requirements for schools with military children.
He served for many years on the Monmouth County School Boards Association and the board of the Monmouth Adult Education Commission. He served on the New Jersey State School Boards Association, where he was a member, vice president, and Washington delegate for its federal relations network.
Field was also a member and president of the Friends of the Monmouth County Library Association.
When the concept of a regional high school for Monmouth County, NJ was developed in 1957, the county superintendent appointed Field to the interim board. Four years later Monmouth Regional High School opened. The following spring he ran for the local school board and won, and was elected to the post ever since. Field was president of the school board for many of the years of his tenure. In honor of Dr. Field's contributions, Monmouth Regional High School was closed for the day of his funeral service, and its entryway was renamed Norman J Field Way.