In Memory of
Daniel L. Goldberg
April 5,
1922 - April 1, 2014
Obituary
GOLDBERG--Daniel
Louis, my beloved, passed away April 1, 2014 in New
York City. He was 91 years old, four days short of his
92d birthday. He was born April 5, 1922 in Philadelphia,
PA and later resided in New Jersey and New York,
recently wintering in Florida.
He was an exceptional person intellectually and a kind,
compassionate caring human being. He was a WWII Veteran,
a volunteer, in the US Army from 1942-1946, first an
enlistee then a 90-day-wonder commissioned officer,
forever proud of his military service. After Technical
High School in Newark, NJ, he attended The New Jersey
Institute of Technology receiving his BS and MS Degrees
in Electrical Engineering, then becoming a registered
Professional Engineer (PE) in New York and New Jersey.
He also attended New York University's prestigious
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. Daniel
Goldberg was a brilliant Engineer.
For 35 years, he was employed by the Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey, and for 16 of those years,
until his retirement in 1985, he was the Port
Authority's Chief Electrical Engineer. Much of his
electrical engineering design work involved New York
City's Holland and Lincoln Tunnels, The George
Washington Bridge, The Port Authority Bus Terminal, The
Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH), The World Trade
Center, Kennedy International and LaGuardia Airports,
and New Jersey's Newark International Airport, where he
played a major role in a 1963 expansive redevelopment,
construction and modernization program, and was the
consultant for all the lighting and power facilities,
receiving high recognition. Through the years he
received many Port Authority accolades. In 1980, he was
awarded the Port Authority's Distinguished Service Medal
"For demonstrating an exceptional degree of good
judgment, initiative and competence in his field of
endeavor and sustained this record of outstanding or
distinguished service over a number of years, at least
15 years of service." When retiring, his Port Authority
plaque was inscribed "A Distinguishing Award To Daniel
L. Goldberg, An Engineer A Gentleman A Friend."
He
was a life member of the Institute of Electrical and
Electronic Engineers (IEEE) the world-wide largest
professional society for the advancement of technology
for humanity. In 1984, he was named Fellow, the highest
level of membership, his citation "For innovative
engineering of large transportation facilities." In
1974, he received an Achievement Award "For Leadership
in Preparing and Publishing the 2nd Edition of
Electrical Systems for Commercial Buildings." And in
1975, he received the Industrial and Commercial Power
Systems Standards Medallion. He also contributed to the
1976, 1986, 1996 editions of the Red Book-Industrial
Buildings, and the Bronze Book-Energy Conservation, and
was on the Standards Board Review Committee 1982-1992.
In 1993, he was the recipient of the Distinguished
Service Award "In recognition of his dedication and
distinguished service to the IEEE Industry Applications
Society." He was involved with the Illuminating
Engineering Society and wrote three electrical chapters
for the McGraw Hill Handbook on Building Services. He
was also an instructor for the IEEE, and held numerous
other positions. The immensity of his ongoing
contributions to the IEEE culminated in being awarded a
special bronze medal inscripted "The IEEE Awards This
Third Millennium Medal to Daniel L. Goldberg in 2000 for
Outstanding Achievements and Contributions."
Daniel was a child of "The Great Depression of the
'30's," never forgetting the prevailing poverty, imbuing
him with a lasting sense of empathy and philanthropy.
For 40 years, he was a member and supporter of The
American Technion Society, of The Technion Society of
Israel, the leading Engineering and Science Institution,
and in 2000 he received their Crystal Triangle, the
highest award for being a PATRON. He was also a long
time recognized supporter of the National Holocaust
Museum in Washington, DC. And he was an Alma Mater
supporter of the New Jersey Institute of Technology,
Newark College of Engineering, "An Alumni Fellow
Supporter For Significant Support to Engineering
Education," these among so many others.
Archeology was another of Daniel's interests. For many
years he was a member of the Biblical Archeology
Society, an international organization, taking him on
several Middle East excavations, to dig sites of
historical biblical importance, mainly to Israel. He was
an inveterate traveler and had visited China, India,
Egypt, Greece, Morocco, France, England, Germany,
Ecuador, Argentina, Mexico, Alaska, and other places.
He enjoyed music, and opera, and possessed a delightful
sense of humor, wise and witty. His appreciation and
knowledge of art and art history were boundless. He was
a member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the past
40 years, and a long time Friend of The New York Public
Library. And, in his characteristic modest, unassuming
manner, he was a member of the American MENSA, the
world-wide society for exceptionally high intelligence
quotient individuals.
After enduring prolonged suffering, Daniel passed away
from Parkinson's Disease, that still incurable illness.
He is survived by a son, Alan Goldberg, a professor in
California, and also a companion of long years, Irene
Field, who he deeply loved, and to whom he was so deeply
devoted. Daniel L. Goldberg was truly a special person,
dedicated to Engineering, from childhood, and blessed
with so many other fine attributes. He was loved and
respected by all who knew him, and all whose lives he
touched, and he will be greatly missed. With everlasting
love. Irene
Published in The New York Times on
May 18, 2014