Beloved husband of Judith (Olef).Devoted father of Eric Goldner and his wife Debra, Rachel Scheff and her husband Brian and Mark Goldner and his wife Kelly. Loving grandfather of Lindsay, Hannah, Mikaela, Sapphire, Rebecca, Leah and Ezra. Loving Uncle of Stephen and Bruce Goldner. Dear brother of Leonard Goldner. Services at the Levine Chapel, 470 Harvard Street, Brookline on Sunday, January 6 at 10:00am. Interment at Westview Cemetery, Lexington. Memorial observance at his late residence following the interment through 4:00pm and on Monday 1-4pm and on Tuesday from 5-8pm. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to Union of Concerned Scientists, 2 Brattle Square, Cambridge, MA 02138. www.ucsusa.org
Professor Ronald B. Goldner, whose inventiveness and creative spirit led him to invent the world’s first solid-state electrochromic window, died on Thursday, January 3 at the age of 77.
Goldner was a passionate environmentalist well before it was in vogue. He used his talents as an Electrical Engineer and applied physicist to develop ideas for energy-saving technologies. Among many accomplishments and patents, he worked to develop an all solid-state electrochromic glass. This technology allows users to dictate the amount of visible light and infrared light (heat energy) that passes through the glass. He had also pursued advancements in battery technology, with the hope of helping to create a solar energy economy.
Professor Goldner was a beloved teacher and inspiration to many. Dozens of his former students have thanked him for his inspiration and advice. Goldner was a rare breed of academic who was equally as passionate about his teaching as he was about his research. In fact, as a founder of the Tufts Unversity Electro-Optics Center, he designed a unique graduate program, which combined research and classroom experiences.
Ronald Goldner was a loving husband, father and grandfather and an amazing “people person”. He was devoted to his wife Judith, his 3 children and 7 grandchildren all of whom adored their “Saba”. He had an incredible ability to get anyone to talk, and he would always come away from meeting someone with stories.
Goldner was born in Brooklyn in 1935 and grew up in Amityville, New York, although he apparently never had any haunted house experiences. A star athlete in high school, he was the leading scorer on his basketball team and catcher of his baseball team. He graduated from Amityville High School in 1952. Although he had a chance to pursue athletics, he decided instead to devote himself to science and engineering. He went to MIT where he earned his Bachelor’s, Master’s and Engineer’s degrees, and then went on to earn his PhD from Purdue University in 1962. He started as a professor at Tufts in 1963, where he worked until 2005.
Goldner channeled his athleticism into running, and for many years he was a very competitive racer. He ran numerous races, including over 25 marathons. His fastest marathon time was a 2:47!
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