Robert Edelberg

Robert “Bob” Edelberg of Pennington, NJ passed away on December 11, 2016 at Princeton Hospital, Princeton, NJ. Bob was born in Jersey City, NJ on August 2, 1921, the second of four children of John and Rachel “Ray” (Wolfson) Edelberg. He graduated from Memorial High School, West New York, as valedictorian at age 16 and attended Rutgers University, graduating a semester early so that he could enlist in the Army Air Corps at the beginning of World War II. Bob started training to become a fighter pilot, but instead became an excellent navigator, mostly on planes being ferried in the European and Pacific theaters. His performance as an officer during the War helped save the lives of several crew members and at least one airplane. He married Charlotte Ruth Aronowitz on November 19, 1944, to whom he was married for seventy-two years. They had four sons.

In 1949, Bob obtained a PhD in Human Physiology and Biophysics from the University of Pennsylvania. He worked on the U.S. Space Program in the early-to-mid-1950’s at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and through the remainder of his career was on the faculties of Baylor University College of Medicine (now Baylor College of Medicine), The University of Oklahoma, and Rutgers University. His primary interest was research, but he also taught medical and doctoral students. He received The Society of Psychophysiological Research 1974 Award for Distinguished Contribution for Psychophysiology.

Bob enjoyed entertaining his four sons with stories about the world of science, sometimes lingering at the dinner table for this purpose. He was quite mechanically inclined and frequently fixed his own cars (including complex “ring jobs” and “valve jobs”) and various pieces of machinery and household appliances. Being a child of The Great Depression, he rarely discarded anything. In his world, malfunctioning items should be resurrected for continued life. After his death, his sons discovered several saved articles that provoked smiles and memories. He was very devoted to Charlotte and always had her best interest at heart. For instance, when it was time for a new car purchase, Charlotte always got the new one, while Bob took her old one. For himself, he never considered a car to be a status symbol, and as a result he normally drove a well-used vehicle.

Bob is survived by his four sons, Ralph (Amy), Walter (Marilyn Szekendi), Neal, and Howard (Kimberly Ward), and two grandchildren, Susan and Alexander. Charlotte passed away on June 17, 2020. A joint memorial service for Bob and Charlotte may be held at a later date.