Robert F. Staats-westover ’50 *52

Bob died Oct. 3, 2014, in Princeton at age 90.

He was raised in Bordentown, N.J. After graduating from Trenton High School, he served in the Marines for three years and was honorably discharged as a staff sergeant in 1946.

Bob ran track and graduated with honors in mechanical engineering. He continued at Princeton, earning a master’s degree in plastics engineering in 1952, and later, in 1962, another master’s degree in engineering mechanics from NYU.

He was a member of the technical staff of the polymer department of Bell Telephone Labs from 1954 to 1985. From 1985 until 1991, he was manager of the New Jersey Polymer Extension Center at Stevens Institute of Technology.

Academically, he was distinguished-service associate professor at Stevens in its mechanical and chemical engineering departments from 1963 to 2003. Bob authored numerous patents and publications in the polymer field. He held offices and won awards in several engineering societies, and was elected a fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineers.

He moved to Princeton in 1961, where he was a scoutmaster, marksmanship instructor, and dedicated church member.

His first wife, Ann, predeceased him. His second wife, Hazel; his children, Doug, Diane, and Bryce; his stepdaughter, Dawn; 12 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren survive him. To them all, the class extends its deepest sympathy.