James Maloney

James Maloney, 55, of Madison passed away at his home under hospice care on Sunday, July 24, 2022.  A memorial mass will begin at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Madison with visitation one hour prior.

James Maloney was born January 28, 1967 in Rockford, IL to Neil and Phyllis (Cox) Maloney.  He grew up in Rockford and graduated from Auburn High School.  He then went on to the University of Illinois and earned a physics degree.  James continued his education by attending Marquette University School of Law, graduating with high honors.  While at Marquette he married Nina Wolodzko.  He practiced law for 10 years before enrolling at Northern Illinois University and earning his PHD in physics.  The family then moved to Vancouver, BC where Jim worked for Triumf National Lab.  In 2016 they moved to Madison where he taught all physics and astronomy courses at Dakota State University.  Dr. Maloney’s research focused on improving simulation models for electromagnetic element and charged particle interactions, designing particle beam elements and layouts, and studying nonlinear effects in electromagnetic fields. He also served as DSU’s representative to the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) collaboration working at the forefront of particle physics research.

Jim was a member of St. Thomas Catholic Church.  He loved working with students and coordinated with NASA to allow some of the Madison middle school kids a chance to converse with the astronauts on the International Space Station live.  He also enjoyed building and launching rockets.

Jim is survived by: his wife, Nina of Madison; his children, Alec of Lafayette, IN, Christina of St. Kitt’s, West Indies and Michael of Madison; his father, Neil of Rockford, IL; his siblings, John (Amanda) Maloney, Alison Maloney, Joe (Amber) Maloney and Anne (Kyle) Gielow; nieces, Anya and Michaela and nephews, River and Simon.  He was preceded in death by his mother, Phyllis.