Robert Chiralo

Robert Philip Chiralo died on April 12, 2011, of brain cancer. His wife was at his side, as was Father Alexander Drummond, who admin-istered the Sacraments of the Church and a dear family friend, Jeanne Dal-aba. Bob was born on May 8, 1949, in Reading, Pennsylvania. He was an honor student throughout his school years there and began studying piano at age 8. At age 16, he was certified by the Lutheran Church to serve as an Organist/Choir Director. He continued his organ studies through his undergraduate years and was a lifetime member of the American Guild of Organists, serving in various capacities in that organization.

In his deep devotion as a church musician he continuously served at various churches in Pennsylvania, California, and most recently as organist at Pender UMC in Fairfax, Virginia. He was an active Republican grassroots pro-life volunteer, member of the Fairfax County Republican Com-mittee and spent several years as a tour guide at Manassas Battlefield Park. He was a student of world history, particularly military history.

Bob Chiralo had over 35 years of technical, management, and business development experience in intelligence and defense with the Federal Government. This began with his early work at the Aerospace Corporation, continued through his employment at Logicon Geodynamics and Logicon Ultra-systems (both now part of TASC, Inc.), and led to his current position at SRI International. Bob established a professional reputation as a pioneer in the area of Mea-surement and Signature Intelligence, especially in applying the science of sensors to the growing field of overhead sensing systems support for our national security and intelligence communities. This included extensive involvement in the evaluation of new remote sensing and hyperspectral detection technologies and culminating in his role in helping establish the Spectral Information Technology Applications Center (SITAC) to better-formalize the evaluation of various new methods in these arenas. Bob's expertise also led to one of the more interesting assignments of his professional career: his service as a technical advisor on imagery processing in connection with the House of Representatives 1978 investigation of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Bob joined the Washington Office of SRI in 1998 as Intelligence Community Program Development Manager; his responsibilities included support of the company's business development efforts and Intelligence Community Program Development, including project and program management spanning nearly the entire spectrum of the intelligence and national security communities.

He was also quite active professionally. He was a founding member of the Measurement and Sig-nature Intelligence Association, and an officer and past Chairman of the organization, and played a key role in its 2008 reorganization as the Advanced Technical Intelligence Association (ATIA). He was also an active member of the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS), the North American Remote Sensing Industries Association (NARSIA) and the National Military

Intelligence Association (NMIA). He held a B.A. in Physics from Wittenberg University (1971) and an MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania (1973) in addition to other ongoing professional studies connected to his work.

He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Monica Dolle Chiralo of Centreville, VA; daughter and son-in-law Monette and Michael John-stone with grandchildren Melissa Mae and Maxfield Alexander Johnstone of Seattle, WA; parents Anthony Philip and Mary Jane Chiralo of Reading, PA; and brother Joel Anthony Chir-alo of Carney, MD.

The Funeral Mass will be held Monday, April 18, 2011, at 11:30 a.m. at Saint Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church in Clifton, VA, with burial in the Garden of the Blessed Mother at Fairfax Memorial Park. A celebration of his life and music ministry will follow at Pender United Methodist Church in Fairfax. In lieu of flowers, it was his desire that donations be made to The Jeanne Bussard Center, 555 South Market St., Frederick, MD 21701. This is a facility which serves mentally and physically handicapped adults. It was dear to his heart.