Robert Lindsay Malster

February 15, 1933 - October 23, 2026

Robert Lindsay Malster died on October 23, 2026, at the age of 93. Born in York, Nebraska, on February 15, 1933, he was the youngest of four children and the only son of Emmet Lyle Malster and Clara Caroline (Pfeffer) Malster. Bob will be remembered as a deeply caring husband, father, and friend, with a warm, engaging, and neighborly spirit, as well as a consummate engineer, planner, and manager. He was filled with curiosity and a love of learning, accompanied by a phenomenal memory.

His family operated the last privately owned town water supply company in Nebraska, where Bob's early interests in science and engineering were nurtured by the local water plant superintendent and lifelong friend, Harlow Bottum. An excellent student, Bob was accepted to MIT, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in chemical engineering. Accomplished enough to be admitted to MIT honor societies in both engineering and science, he was also social enough to be elected president of his fraternity in his junior year. He honored his deep love for MIT by serving for ten years as president of his MIT Alumni Class of 1956. In May 2026, he was delighted to sport his cardinal-red MIT blazer at his 70th class reunion.

After brief stints in the Army Reserve and at Procter & Gamble, Bob joined the young Polaroid Corporation in 1958, as it expanded into the color film business. His career took him through management positions spanning production and research and development to new business development, earning him patents along the way. He enjoyed a close affiliation with Edwin Land, Polaroid's founder and chairman, and, along with many others, experienced the thrills and challenges of preparing Land for major announcements at Polaroid's famed annual meetings.

Taking early retirement from Polaroid in 1988, Bob returned to his beloved MIT, joining the Industrial Liaison Program and the Corporate Development Office. His work in the latter resulted in a series of large-scale industry partnerships that generated more than $188 million in support of MIT research. These partnerships, initiated in the early 1990s with Amgen, helped establish a pattern of companies building and relocating research facilities near MIT, contributing to the transformation of MIT-Kendall Square into the “Silicon Valley” of biotechnology. Bob developed these industry relationships in close collaboration with Nobel laureate Phil Sharp and MIT's then-president, Charles Vest. When Bob retired from MIT in 2002, Vest recognized the unique combination of Bob's technological expertise and relational skills, stating: “...no one has been more instrumental than you in developing and implementing the concept of major industry partnerships, which are an integral part of MIT's strategy and activities.”

Bob married Joan Helen Cameron of Beverly, MA, immediately following his graduation from MIT's master's program in 1956. They settled in Wellesley, MA, where they raised four children. Bob was active at the Village Church, serving on the Board of Deacons and as chairman of the Music Committee—a lovely complement to his lifelong love of music.

Following a divorce in the 1980s, Bob moved to Hawthorne Place in Boston. Over the following decade, he enjoyed traveling, particularly on extended trips with his youngest son, Jim, through France, the American Southwest, and Bolivia. In 1998, he met the love of his life, Alma Ruth Berson, in the elevator at Hawthorne Place. Together, they embraced life to the fullest, particularly the cultural richness of Boston, participating in, sharing, and supporting its cultural life at every level. In 2019, Bob's wife endowed the “Robert Malster (1956) Fund” to support annual master classes for MIT Music Department students. Musical salons in their home, featuring professional-level performers as well as Conservatory and MIT students, became an expression of their shared love of music.

Towards the end of his life, Bob was filled with gratitude—for his family and friends over the years, for his formative years in Nebraska, for the opportunities MIT afforded him, and for the friendships he cherished at Hawthorne Place and at his most recent home, Orchard Cove in Canton, MA. Bob will long be remembered for the delight he openly expressed in his many relationships, in science and music, in nature and travel, and in celebrating the accomplishments and life milestones of those he loved. He was generous in spirit, giving freely of his time and attention, as well as his financial resources. Together with his wife, Alma, he cared for elders in his family and community and mentored young friends and students. He approached pancreatic cancer with courage and resolve, determined to live his final days on his own terms rather than let the illness define them. A humble man, he was deeply respected and honored by those who loved him.

He was preceded in death by his sisters, Mary Elizabeth Malster Miller, Virginia (Ginny) Lee Malster, and Martha Jane Malster Campbell. Bob is survived by his loving wife, Alma Ruth Berson, and his children from his first marriage: Susan Elizabeth Malster of Wellesley, MA; Robert Cameron Malster and his wife, Wende Horner Malster, along with granddaughters Lindsay and Lauren, of Westwood, MA; John Lindsay Malster and grandchildren Claire and Quinn, of Charlestown, MA, with their mother, Karen Sveda, of Winchester, MA; James Emmet Malster and his wife, Angela Marie Bushnell, with grandsons Jack and Calvin, of Phnom Penh, Cambodia; his nephew, Mark Campbell, his wife, Julie and their sons, Alex and Andrew of Seattle, WA, and his nephew, Kirk Campbell and his daughter, Marissa Fullum Campbell of Sacramento, CA.

Private services and burial will be held at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, MA.

Memorial gifts may be sent to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, designating the “Robert Malster (1956) Fund,” or to FriendshipWorks, 107 Chauncy Street, Boston, MA 02111.