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This biographical note is based heavily on the obituary written by the American Astronomical Society that can be found at: https://aas.org/obituaries/thomas-edward-lutz-1940-1995.

Tom Lutz was an internationally recognized astronomer for his research in fundamental calibrations of stellar distances and luminosities who taught astronomy at Washington State University (WSU) from 1969 to 1992. Lutz was born in Tea Neck, New Jersey on November 20, 1940. After graduating in 1962 with a major in mechanical engineering from Manhattan College in New York City, Lutz then went on to the University of Illinois to complete his Masters in Astronomy. During his time at Illinois, he was influenced by Stan Wyatt, Ivan King, George McVittie, and Ken Yoss, his thesis advisor. It was also there that he met his wife, Julie Haynes, also a professor of astronomy at WSU (as Julie Lutz). He then went on to a summer assistant job at Kitt Peak Observatory in 1965 during which time he established his thesis topic to develop an objective method to measure the Ca II K-line emission widths needed to determine stellar absolute magnitudes by the Wilson-Bappu effect. After receiving his Ph. D., Lutz went on to teach at WSU starting in 1969. He became a professor at Washington State University in 1981 and was Director of WSU's Program in Astronomy from 1980 to 1992. In 1973, Lutz collaborated with WSU statistician Douglas Kelker to develop a series of corrections (known as Lutz-Kelker corrections) to compensate for observational errors when observing celestial bodies. Lutz, as co-Principal Investigator, was instrumental in the construction of the ARC (Astrophysical Research Consortium) telescope at the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico. He died suddenly of cardiac arrhythmia on February 20, 1995, survived by his wife Julie, two daughters, and three grandchildren.