John Brinster ’43

John died Sept. 9, 2016, peacefully at home. He was our classmate and a loyal son of Princeton. John prepared for Princeton at Butler (N.J.) High School, where he was president of his class.

As an undergraduate he majored in chemistry and physics and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. In the summer of 1942, he held an assistantship and worked in the physics department.

Upon graduation he remained at Princeton under orders from the War Manpower Commission, where he created the first multi-channel radio telemetry devices. When the Army captured the German V-2 missile, he was appointed to the national V-2 panel and worked with scientists such as Wernher von Braun. He also enjoyed associations with Einstein and Oppenheimer at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Later, John became an entrepreneur and started several high-tech companies that were involved in data acquisition, telemetry, and thermoelectricity. Once retired, John became interested in neuroscience and the human mind.

As proof of his devotion to Princeton, he donated a prize in perpetuity for the best senior thesis on neuroscience, an initiative supported by the class. Later, the University established the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, and the Class of ’43 Brinster Neuroscience Award continues.

John is survived by his wife, Doris Lacy Ayres; daughters Jaye White (Allen), and Meg; son John; nine grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.