Joseph Terrence Heard, 46, mathematician and research scientist

JOSEPH TERRANCE Heard had this dream.

He would start a program for boys who have had discipline problems at school and encourage them to chase the same dream that led him to a successful career in science.

It was part of Joe's lifelong commitment to encourage others to follow his path, which took him from a childhood of poverty in Philadelphia public housing to a fulfilling career in mathematics and science research.

His brother, Justin, said Joe spent his "time and efforts mentoring many of the youth of our community trying to light the spark of knowledge and education wherever he could."

But those efforts were canceled on Aug. 11 when Joe was struck and killed by a tour bus outside police headquarters at Race and Franklin streets. He was 46.

The bus didn't stop but continued on its way to Washington, D.C. The driver later told police he didn't know he had hit anyone.

Joseph Heard was known locally as the host of a science program on G-Town Radio in Germantown, where he also entertained listeners with hip-hop and R&B music.

He had a knack for putting complex scientific concepts into understandable language, and attracted a wide following to his program, "Science 2.0," on the small nonprofit station.

Joe's research work included involvement with the ATLAS team in pursuit of the Higgs-Boson particle, known as the "God particle," that would explain universal laws. The experiments were conducted at the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, N.Y., and the CERN Laboratory in Geneva.

He also made contributions to research for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science on the largely discredited "cold fusion" theory, which posits nuclear reaction at room temperature.

In recent years, Joe worked in finance for the Philadelphia school district.

"I was born in extreme poverty in the Richard Allen Homes project in North Philadelphia," he once wrote. "When I was in high school, a college education seemed like something for other people, not me. However, I always loved learning about the universe and how it worked."

That lust for learning led Joe, after graduating from the Franklin Learning Center, to Philadelphia Community College, then a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Drexel University and a master's in applied mathematics from Syracuse University.

While at Drexel, he got a chance to work as an intern at the Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Joe was born the third of the five children of Joseph Frederick and Alberta Jeannette Heard.

"Although his pursuit of higher education and knowledge took him across the country and around the world, his roots stayed firmly in Northwest Philadelphia, where he shared his passion for music and science through his radio show and at every other opportunity," said his sister, Sonja Heard-Bond. She and another sister, Heather, were co-hosts on the radio program.

"He and Heather covered a wide variety of topics science-related, ranging from local science museums and events to interstellar travel," Sonja said.

"They debated global warming and the plausibility of super humans, all with the beats of the best hip-hop and R&B music taking them to the break. 'Science 2.0' was a wonderful example of what could be accomplished by a man with a dream and the support of his family and community."

Joe pursued his interest in music, especially percussion, at the Settlement Music School, and as a director of the Ogontz Steppers and Drum Corp. He was an organizer and choreographer of the prize-winning aggregation.

"They formed, drilled and trained a core of 22 local percussion students looking to see how far they could go as a team," brother Justin said. "They performed and competed nationwide, traveling as far west as Las Vegas, south to New Orleans and up in Canada, winning 14 national competitions on the way."

Joe was former president of the National Society of Black Engineers and the Philadelphia Chapter of Mu Alpha Theta, the mathematical honor society.

Joe suffered from serious health problems in recent years. In fact, he was on his way to a kidney dialysis appointment when he was struck by the bus.

Besides his brother and sisters, he is survived by his mother, Alberta Jeannette Tann, and another sister, Vonda.

Services: Memorial service 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, at Ivy Hill Cemetery Chapel.