Dr. Richard D. Martin

Dr. Richard D. Martin
Dr. Richard Douglas Martin died on November 30, 2011 in a car accident caused by a drunk driver in the Cayman Islands while attending St. Matthews University of Medicine. He was a loving and dedicated father, husband, son, brother and prospective primary care physician. Richard was a 1977 graduate of Emmaus High School and earned a BS in Nuclear Engineering in 1981 from Penn State University. He later graduated Summa cum laude with an MS in Technology Management/Doctor of Science in Engineering and Technology Management from Southern California University in 1999.Richards career began in the nuclear industry working for various energy companies conducting reactor operations, quality assurance and training. He joined his father to launch a Radon testing and remediation business in the mid-80s. Ever a serial entrepreneur, he was a finalist in Inc. Magazines Entrepreneur of the Year (1988) and founded startups focused on global satellite applications for the delivery of telemedicine services to impoverished countries, and high performance network design and international infrastructure development. Dr. Martin was involved in several activities involving intensivist care and the design of telemedicine applications for the Pittsburgh Childrens Hospital under the direction of Dr. Danny Kofos. Dr. Martin was also involved in the deployment and implementation of several telemedicine activities for the Veterans Administration including the strategic base in Yuma, AZ. He worked on telemedicine applications to help provide critical care and field specialists to medically underserved areas across the country, and throughout the world.Richard served as a member of the CTO Club of NY, chairman of the ICE2 specification committee, member of the XML Protocol Working Group, member of PRISM metadata standards group; board member of IDEAlliance, (International Digital Enterprise Alliance) a not-for-profit membership organization. He was a member of the Information and Content Exchange (ICE) Authoring Committee, which is writing the international protocols for information syndication across the web and other technologies. He served as the corporate representative to W3C, the World Wide Web Consortium, which develops languages for the presentation of content on the web, such as HTML and XML. Previously, Dr. Martin was engaged as the Chief Operating Officer of a multinational subcontractor to a digital content delivery firm. He and his team developed and installed the first high-speed network to incorporate the homogenous transport of voice, data and video across multiple international boundaries. Richard was an Adjunct Professor at DeSales University in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, and was a member of the Penn State University - Lehigh Valley Advisory Board from 2004-2010. He was also a co-founder, owner and CTO of Active Data Exchange. He holds a patent for Syndication Methodology to Dynamically Place Digital Assets on Non-Related Web Sites.Richard was Interim Director of IT for First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem, was head of the Solehi Soccer League from 1994-1996, was a volunteer soccer coach for The Greater Bethlehem Soccer League in the early 2000s and served as a Flotilla Staff Officer in the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. His hobbies included sailing, skiing and playing the saxophone. He was an avid car enthusiast and supporter of his beloved Penn State Nittany Lions. Richard had a long standing passion for medicine. He had contemplated medical school for many years and at the age of 50, decided to fulfill his dream. He enrolled at Saint Matthews University School of Medicine in the Cayman Islands January 2011, in the class of 2014. A Memorial Service was held by the students and faculty on December 2 and the outpouring of compassion and empathy was appreciated by the attending members of Richards immediate family and can be found on Richards Facebook page. Survivors: Richard is survived by his wife, Susan; children, Zoe, Kayla, Jimmy, James, Lauren; mother, Christine; sister, Pam. Services:Calling Hours will be held on Friday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Long Funeral Home, 500 Linden St., Bethlehem 18018. A Memorial Service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, December 10, in the Kirk Center of the First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem, 2344 Center St., Bethlehem 18017, with Interment to follow at Bethlehem Memorial Park Cemetery. A reception will be held immediately afterwards at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem 18015. An invitation is extended to Richards friends to contribute to an open mike at the reception to record memories of Richard for his children, especially for six year old Zoe. Memorials: Contributions may be made to Lehigh Valley Community Foundation - Dr. Richard D. Martin Memorial Fund, c/o Active Data Exchange, 190 Brodhead Rd., Suite 300, Bethlehem PA 18017