Timothy Foster Elsmore

Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Timothy Foster Elsmore Ph.D., age 73, passed away on May 13, 2016. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Ginger, and his two sons Eric (LeaAnn) and Jason (Robyn) as well as five grandchildren (Jacob, Hannah, Kiana, Holden and Josie), brother Jeff (Marilyn) and sisters Ginger (Ron) and Susie, plus many nieces and nephews.

Tim's core quality was his unconditional love and devotion to family, friends, and anyone in need. He lived his life to make the world a better place and his accomplishments both personally and professionally show that. He had an ability to live life in the moment and give his full attention to whatever or whoever he was with. Until the end, his eyes would light up and he would experience full joy with the kiss of a grandchild or a funny punch line. He lived life with honor and grace beyond anything that could be expected.

When Tim was 16 his family moved from Duluth to Phoenix, where he graduated from Scottsdale High School. He went on to receive his B.S. and Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Arizona State University in 1969, where he studied under Dr. Jack Michael. While at ASU he met Ginger and they married in 1963. After graduation, he joined the Army and in 1969 they had their first son, Eric, while he was in Officer Training at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. The family moved to Maryland where Tim began his career as a research psychologist at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Their second son, Jason, was born in 1971.

In 1990 the family moved to San Diego where Tim worked at Balboa Naval Hospital doing sleep research. He retired from government service in 1996 and started his company, Activity Research Services, consulting on government and private projects developing software solutions for behavioral psychology applications.

His most lasting and influential achievement was when he authored the original FAST (Fatigue Avoidance Scheduling Tool) software. This program provides an estimate of mental fatigue under any work schedule, such as a pilot's flight duty or a train operator's shift rotation. Tim had a flair for data presentation which he skillfully applied to design the graphical portrayal of performance changes and fatigue emblematic of FAST. The original program was written for the US Air Force. The design decisions and architecture that originated with Tim have endured to this day in the version integrated with SAFTE®-FAST used by major airlines and corporations around the world.

Tim's impact on the science of sleep and performance extend beyond FAST. He also wrote software sold by Ambulatory Monitoring Incorporated to analyze and portray activity patterns used to quantify sleep, ActionW. Again, his data management and graphic skill set the standard for presentation of sleep and activity patterns. His original work is mirrored in the design of sleep plots in today's fitness trackers. Tim also pioneered the development of mobile performance assessment with the Palm Pilot-based performance assessment battery, ARES. That system was successfully applied in patients to forecast the onset of migraine headaches, and was combined with mobile neural assessment to field assess potential concussive brain injury in football players a decade before it became commonplace. Tim also pioneered laboratory simulation of work and multi-tasking with his program SimWork.

His legacy in the area of operational fatigue and performance research is broad and enduring. Many thousands of workers enjoy a safer work environment because of the visionary work of Tim Elsmore. Through his work to improve conditions for athletes, pilots, patients, astronauts and many others, his professional relationships have grown into life-long friendships.

In 1977 Tim was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Over time MS took Tim's ability to walk, stand, use his hands, and eventually to move at all. Through all this he persevered, adapted and never complained. He was a man of rare courage. He had an amazing ability to build things, he fixed things that were broken, he was a musician, he was a teacher, he was a student of life, he loved sharing experience and experiences, he was a world traveler, he sent software to space, he was an inventor, he had an amazing sense of humor, he was a mentor to many and friend to more, he was a loving son, brother, husband, father, and grandfather. He will be missed forever and always

The family thanks Tim's wonderful caregivers Jennie Burns, Swin Chin and Annette Dibble for all they did for Tim in the last three years of his life, allowing him to remain at home with his family to the end. Thanks also to Hospice of the Valleys for their support.