Robert Pasternack

Robert (Bob) Pasternack died peacefully on June 5 at the Cape Canaveral Hospital, Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Loving husband and devoted father and grandfather, Bob was the Edmund Allen Professor of Chemistry emeritus at Swarthmore College, where he taught for close to 30 years after a distinguished 20-year career at Ithaca College. He was an inspired scientist and educator whose work in the area of bio-inorganic chemistry earned him an international reputation. The author or co-author of 119 scholarly publications — many in collaboration with his students — Bob was the recipient of many honors and awards which reflected his passion for research and his commitment to undergraduate education.

Born September 20, 1936, Bob grew up in Brooklyn playing stickball, enjoying Mrs. Paul’s knishes, and making friends with the characters who hung out at the pool hall next door. His was not a happy family and he started running away at the age of five, never getting far because he wasn’t allowed to cross the street. However, he did make his escape at the age of sixteen, winning a scholarship to attend Cornell University. From there he never looked back.

Bob’s spirit of adventure led him to take up numerous research and visiting faculty appointments throughout the world: at universities in Rome, Paris, London, Nankai, Messina, Kyoto, Berlin; and in the U.S. at Berkeley and the Brookhaven National Laboratory. His research, which impacts such diverse fields as biomedicine, solar energy conversion technology, and molecular electronics, focused on porphyrin chemistry, supramolecular assemblies based on weak interactions, rapid kinetics, spectroscopic methods, and resonance light scattering. 

Bob was a gifted educator who played a major role in furthering science education and collaborative student research at both Swarthmore and Ithaca colleges. He also acted as a consultant to a number of institutions seeking to develop their undergraduate chemistry programs. He was a remarkable lecturer, often receiving standing ovations, and his enthusiasm and dedication to teaching was inspiring to both students and colleagues.

Bob was a special man in countless ways. He was known for his generous rapport with others, his hearty laugh, and his lively sense of humor. A world traveler, an ardent fan of baseball, opera, old movies, and New York Times crosswords (to mention only a few of his passions), he lived his life with gusto.

He leaves his wife of 25 years, Sydney (Wigtil), his daughter Jennifer, his son Jeffrey, and three grandchildren, Zoe, Katherine, and Gabriel. He loved his wife, he loved his children and grandchildren, and was dearly loved in return. The loss is great.

With respect to Bob’s wishes, no funeral service will be held and a private celebration of his life for close friends and family will be planned for a later date. Donations in Bob’s memory can be made to The Chester Children’s Chorus: swarthmore.edu/chester-childrens-chorus/gift.