DAVID ELTON BURMASTER

1946 - 2021

BORN

1946

DIED

2021

About

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

DAVID BURMASTER Obituary

BURMASTER, David Elton A Life Well Lived David Elton "Dave" Burmaster was born in 1946 in Niagara Falls, New York to Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Neal Burmaster and Elton Lewis Burmaster. During his childhood he was an avid Boy Scout, completing the rank of Eagle Scout, and participated in Ham Radio competitions with his father. Dave graduated from Niagara Falls High School in 1964 and went on to MIT. While at MIT he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. He lived in the fraternity house in Brookline and made many lifelong friends in the class of 1969. The focus of his studies was Electrical Engineering and BioPhysics. His research centered on the interaction of the environment and its impact on humans. To that end, he next pursued a Master's degree from the Kennedy School in Public Policy so as to be able to advocate for change in the public sector for safer environmental policies around the disposal of waste, especially nuclear, and its impact on groundwater. Following his graduation from Harvard, he returned to MIT and completed his Ph.D. in conjunction with researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. While at MIT he was a member of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Honor Society. His Ph.D, from the Department of Civil Engineering at MIT, was titled: "Steady and unsteady continuous culture of Monochrysis lutheri under phosphate limitation." Upon completion of his Ph.D. Dave served as the Water Quality staff member at the President's Council on Environmental Quality under the Carter administration where he was a part of such research projects as "Institutional Constraints and Public Acceptance Barriers to Utilization of Municipal Wastewater and Sludge for Land Reclamation and Biomass Production." After leaving the EPA, Dave returned to the Boston area where he would live out the remainder of his years. In 1987 he founded Burmaster & Associates, the company that would later become Alceon Corporation, an environmental consulting group. Through his work with Alceon he was not only able to participate in a variety of interesting projects but also able to continue to produce scholarly research. His scientific interests varied from statistical analysis using R, to collaborating on the development of the Mathematica software, Dave's pursuits were often on the cutting edge of science and technology. His legacy lives on throughout the US as he was able to advocate for changes, such as reduced salt use on Cape Cod, that would help to preserve the environment, especially aquatic ecosystems. In his later years Dave was an avid volunteer. He worked with the Association of Independent Living groups at MIT, the FIRST Robotics competitions (he was a founder organizer of the regional event held annually at BU), and the Venture Mentoring Services at MIT. The through-line in all his volunteer work was his interest in inspiring the next generation to be excited by STEM. He was an advocate for higher education accessibility and funded a number of scholarships at MIT and Bay Path college. In his spare time Dave returned to his childhood passion of Ham Radio, participating in an annual international competition to contact as many countries as possible the day after Thanksgiving. He also enjoyed baking and healthful cooking, applying his research skills to the pursuit of baking the perfect loaf of bread. His musical tastes were eclectic from classic rock to classical and his collection of CDs, like that of books, was wide ranging and extensive. He liked reading poetry and biographies and spending as much time as he could near the ocean, especially at Woods Hole and the "Big Boy's Camp" in Maine. Dave is survived by his sister Jean Burmaster Palmer of Syracuse, NY, niece Julia Elizabeth Palmer of Williamsburg, VA and a number of cousins throughout the US. He is also survived by his adopted family, Diane and Rob Czwakiel and their two daughters. Dave passed from complications related to dementia and the family asks that any donations in his memory be made either to MIT or the Alzheimer's Association.

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Published by Boston Globe from Mar. 10 to Mar. 11, 2021.

Memories and Condolences
for DAVID BURMASTER

5 Entries

Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence R. Burgess (Larry and Liz)

March 5, 2023

This is Liz Burgess, Larry's wife, writing for both of us on March 5, 2023. Dave was a dear, dear friend whom I met on my first date with Larry in 1968. I can picture Dave and Pitts Jarvis standing in the door of Larry's basement "office." (Pitts told Larry afterwards that my skirt was too short.) We remained friends with Dave long after he and Larry left MIT, seeing him whenever possible. When we bought our first house in Philadelphia, he came to help us move. We last saw him at the gathering for Pitts at the Jarvis house in Palo Alto. I remember that Larry drove me home to the South Bay, then drove back to Palo Alto to talk with Dave into the wee hours. Re-reading Dave's obituary this weekend, I once again marvel that such a brainy guy was friends with ME!

We have never known the circumstances of Dave's death. Could someone tell us? We'd love to talk to Jean or Julia. We are especially interested because Larry was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in August 2021.

Lawrence Burgess

May 20, 2021

David was 2 years behind me at MIT. Both of us were in the Sigma Nu fraternity. He was mentally and physically active during his college years. He played on most of the fraternity sports teams. He was an early fan of the outdoors and nature trails. I would take walks with him and a few others at parks 5-20 miles outside Boston. I met up with him a couple of times in the last several years, at my 50th reunion and at a funeral here in California for one of his fraternity classmates. I am so sorry that he passed away earlier than we would all hope.

Susan G Burmaster

April 6, 2021

David has been a part of my life for over 40 years!
We first met when, as a long lost cousin, he came to visit us when we lived in England.
I knew from that first meeting that he would be a special part of my life.

The world is a little smaller without this unique man who has been a counselor, life guide & a caring, beloved friend. Always just a phone call away .... with answers & advice for any problem, or just for a chat about baking bread, ham radio competitions or life in general.
Always in my prayers...as my beloved David. Now, Forever in my heart.

Susan G Burmaster

Planted Trees

Carol Leary

March 12, 2021

I met David on the first day of seventh grade as we both entered a new, accelerated program at North Junior High School in Niagara Falls, New York. I can see him now in my mind’s eye and, within a few days, I realized he was the smartest boy I had ever met. To this day, I always considered him to be among the brightest, most brilliant men I had ever known.
We went through junior high and high school together and were voted most likely to succeed for the Class of 1965. David entered MIT and I entered Boston University and we kept in touch through our college years. Then our lives moved in different ways and in different cities but the connection was always there. When we moved back from DC to Boston in the late eighties we reconnected. And then we saw each other at least once at year at the Women’s Leadership Conference at Bay Path University where he then met many of my friends and classmates from Boston University, SUNY Albany, and American University and became close to several of my colleagues at the University. He loved that Bay Path was an all women’s university and he contributed to a Robotics Competition and helped set it up. And he gave money for a scholarship. When I shared that David had passed away, one my colleagues remarked that the Robotics Competition was one of her fondest memories of a 25-year career at Bay Path. David had many friends during his lifetime and was loyal to each. He had good advice when you asked but he was not afraid to ask for advice as well. He took it upon himself to be a key leader for the Niagara Falls Class of 1965 High School Reunion Committee and worked tirelessly to create a database of our classmates. He sent my husband and me wonderful CDs and books throughout the years whenever we expressed a certain interest in someone or something. And yes. We received a beautiful book on baking bread, one of his favorite pastimes. I shall never forget David; his brilliant mind; his caring personality; and his never-ending search of new knowledge. My husband and I extend our deepest sympathies to the family and we plan to contribute a gift to Bay Path to recognize the research of a woman science major who shows great promise. I know David would like that!

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