Robert Christian Anderson, retired assistant director of the Brookhaven National Laboratory, died peacefully Jan. 9, 2019, after celebrating his 100th birthday in September.
Anderson graduated from Middlebury College and earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from Princeton in 1948. He was one of the first employees at Brookhaven, working there from 1948 to 1983. From 1956 to 1983 he served as assistant director responsible for scientific personnel, university relations, and public affairs.
In this capacity he led efforts to expand opportunities for women and minorities in science. In 1974 he was appointed to the governing council of Stony Brook University and served as chair for nine years, starting in 1976.
During World War II Anderson worked at Merck & Co. on key medicinal compounds. In the 1950s he conducted early experiments in viniculture and wine-making on Long Island for the New York State Agricultural Extension Service. He was an avid outdoors enthusiast, a skilled silk-screen printmaker, and lifelong advocate for science in service of society.
Anderson is survived by his wife of 26 years, Lynn; four children (including Jon ’74); five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. His first wife, Luise, died in 1990.
Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.