Dr. Arthur Clark Sanderson, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, New York, died on December 14, 2025, at the age of 79, from complications of Parkinson's disease, at his winter residence in Bonita Springs, Florida.
Born on October 23, 1946, in Providence, Rhode Island, Arthur was the son of Robert L. Sanderson and Julia A. Oldham, both educators and alumni of Brown and Pembroke Universities. He demonstrated early excellence in both scholarship and athletics, earning a Westinghouse Science Talent Search and becoming a Rhode Island high school champion in the high hurdles. He received his B.S. degree from Brown University and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Carnegie Mellon University.
Arthur enjoyed running, rowing, windsurfing, and skiing. He was an accomplished guitarist, banjo player, photographer and watercolorist, hobbies that he continued to pursue even as Parkinson's disease diminished his physical abilities.
Dr. Sanderson was Co-Director of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, and then Professor, Department Head of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He also served as Director of Information Sciences at Philips Laboratories in Briarcliff Manor, New York, from 1985 to 1987. In 1989, Dr. Sanderson was instrumental in establishing the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and served as its founding President. He was a Fellow of the IEEE and a recipient of the IEEE Millennium Medal.
From 1998 to 2000, he served as Division Director for Electrical and Communications Systems Research at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Virginia. From 2000 through 2004, he returned to Rensselaer as Vice President for Research.
From 2009 to 2010, he served as Deputy Director of the NSF Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center at Rensselaer. In 2010-2011, he was selected as a Jefferson Science Fellow and served in the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC, where he conducted assessments and forecasts of scientific and technological developments relevant to international arms control, verification, and compliance.
Dr. Sanderson authored more than 250 journal and conference publications and six books in the areas of biomedical signal processing, robotics and automation systems, and sensor-based control. His research on sensor-based robotic control, planning and reasoning for intelligent systems, distributed sensor networks, and neural networks contributed to the development of many modern technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and driverless cars. He applied this work across manufacturing, biomedical engineering, environmental monitoring, space exploration, and security and defense systems. His work included the development of autonomous underwater vehicles and distributed sensing systems for environmental and security applications.
He held numerous international visiting appointments, including at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands; Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, where he established the institution's first biomedical engineering program; and the University of Tsukuba in Japan. He also served as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Autonomous Undersea Systems Institute in Florida and as Senior Research Advisor to The Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries in New York.
Dr. Sanderson was married for 55 years to Dr. Susan R. Sanderson (née Walsh). He is survived by his two children, Dr. Angeline S. Andrew of Bethel, Maine, and Andrew M. Sanderson of London, England, and by four grandchildren: Justin and Dirk Andrew, and Maggie and Julia Sanderson. He was predeceased by his brother, David W. Sanderson. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews and was a devoted brother-in-law to his wife's siblings.
A memorial service will be held in the summer of 2026 at McWain Farm, the family homestead in East Waterford, Maine.
Born on October 23, 1946, in Providence, Rhode Island, Arthur was the son of Robert L. Sanderson and Julia A. Oldham, both educators and alumni of Brown and Pembroke Universities. He demonstrated early excellence in both scholarship and athletics, earning a Westinghouse Science Talent Search and becoming a Rhode Island high school champion in the high hurdles. He received his B.S. degree from Brown University and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Carnegie Mellon University.
Arthur enjoyed running, rowing, windsurfing, and skiing. He was an accomplished guitarist, banjo player, photographer and watercolorist, hobbies that he continued to pursue even as Parkinson's disease diminished his physical abilities.
Dr. Sanderson was Co-Director of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, and then Professor, Department Head of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He also served as Director of Information Sciences at Philips Laboratories in Briarcliff Manor, New York, from 1985 to 1987. In 1989, Dr. Sanderson was instrumental in establishing the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and served as its founding President. He was a Fellow of the IEEE and a recipient of the IEEE Millennium Medal.
From 1998 to 2000, he served as Division Director for Electrical and Communications Systems Research at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Virginia. From 2000 through 2004, he returned to Rensselaer as Vice President for Research.
From 2009 to 2010, he served as Deputy Director of the NSF Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center at Rensselaer. In 2010-2011, he was selected as a Jefferson Science Fellow and served in the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC, where he conducted assessments and forecasts of scientific and technological developments relevant to international arms control, verification, and compliance.
Dr. Sanderson authored more than 250 journal and conference publications and six books in the areas of biomedical signal processing, robotics and automation systems, and sensor-based control. His research on sensor-based robotic control, planning and reasoning for intelligent systems, distributed sensor networks, and neural networks contributed to the development of many modern technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and driverless cars. He applied this work across manufacturing, biomedical engineering, environmental monitoring, space exploration, and security and defense systems. His work included the development of autonomous underwater vehicles and distributed sensing systems for environmental and security applications.
He held numerous international visiting appointments, including at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands; Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, where he established the institution's first biomedical engineering program; and the University of Tsukuba in Japan. He also served as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Autonomous Undersea Systems Institute in Florida and as Senior Research Advisor to The Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries in New York.
Dr. Sanderson was married for 55 years to Dr. Susan R. Sanderson (née Walsh). He is survived by his two children, Dr. Angeline S. Andrew of Bethel, Maine, and Andrew M. Sanderson of London, England, and by four grandchildren: Justin and Dirk Andrew, and Maggie and Julia Sanderson. He was predeceased by his brother, David W. Sanderson. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews and was a devoted brother-in-law to his wife's siblings.
A memorial service will be held in the summer of 2026 at McWain Farm, the family homestead in East Waterford, Maine.
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