Edward Zajac

Dr. Zajac was born in January 1926, to Sophie Pollack Zajac and Stanley Zajac, in Cleveland, Ohio. His parents had immigrated to the U.S. from Poland after the end of WWI, of which Stanley was a veteran. Edward was a brilliant student, graduating valedictorian of his class at Cleveland’s prestigious West Tech High School.

Drafted into WWII, he served as a radioman in a tank division. Deployed to the European theater, Zajac arrived during the fall of Germany. He was gearing up to be a part of the planned U.S. ground invasion of Japan when the Pacific War ended. Zajac spent the remainder of his service in the U.S. Army intelligence in southern Germany, hunting for Nazi war criminals and bringing them to justice.

After discharge from the Army, Zajac studied engineering at Cornell University, where he was again valedictorian of his class, followed by masters and doctoral degrees from Princeton and Stanford respectively.

Hired by AT&T’s Bell Telephone Laboratories in New Jersey, Zajac had a 30 year career there, first in the mathematics research unit and later as head of economics research. He worked on such communications projects as the transatlantic cable and satellites, developing a two-gyro system to keep communications satellites pointed toward Earth.

Now considered a man ahead of his time, Zajac is recognized internationally as the first person in history to create computer animation, at first as a visual means to share with his colleagues the positions of satellites as they orbit Earth. Appearing antiquated and simple in today’s world, his early computer-animated films won much acclaim at the time, and awards in the U.S. and oversees, and are considered classics today.

At an age when many men would have retired early, Zajac developed a second career after the break-up of AT&T. He moved to Tucson in 1983 to become chairman of the economics department at the University of Arizona’s Eller School of Management. As professor and then professor emeritus, Zajac published innumerable articles in scholarly scientific journals during his entire career and published two texts for graduate students. A prize for U. of A. doctoral students was established in his honor by his colleagues.

A few years after he formally retired, Zajac came to Lubbock in 2009 to be close to his daughter while facing the challenge of medical issues, and to avail himself of the first class medical care there. While in Lubbock, he made friends wherever he went, becoming a valued regular at several Lubbock businesses and health care facilities.

In 1953, Zajac married Brooky May Calhoun at Stanford Chapel and they were married 54 years until her passing in 2007. His son, John C. Zajac, also passed away in 2007. Zajac’s daughter, Bonnie F. Gill, survives him along with her children, Leah Gill and Kat Gill, and a great-grandson. Also surviving him are two brothers and their children and grandchildren.

Ed was known far and wide for his big heart, and as a devoted family man and a kind and generous friend and involved community member.

All are invited to say goodbye to Ed and visit the family on Friday, February 4, 2011, at Adair Funeral Home – Dodge Chapel from 4pm to 7:30pm. The family looks forward to seeing friends and colleagues at Ed’s memorial service at 3pm on Saturday, February 5, 2011, at The Arizona Inn. Arrangements are under the direction of Adair’s Funeral Home – Dodge Chapel in Tucson and Resthaven Funeral Home in Lubbock.