Richard Harwald Brody

1930 - 2019

Richard "Dick" Brody, 89, passed away on November 3, 2019 at Sarah House Santa Barbara. His beloved spouse, Thérèse, preceded him in death in 2003. Dick is survived by his children, Richard Brody, Marc Brody, David Brody and Karen Brody. Dick was born in New York City on October 13, 1930 to Ruth Waldman and Benjamin Brody. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1943. Dick was a quiet, reserved, self-effacing intellectual with a rich, inquisitive mind. As a youth, his interests in physics and astronomy led him to build his own telescope by grinding, polishing and assembling the mirror and lenses in the family garage. Dick joined the Army National Guard while pursuing a bachelor's degree in Physics at UCLA. Later, while recuperating from surgery, he met Thérèse, who had recently moved to Los Angeles from France to pursue a nursing degree. They quickly fell for each other and were married in 1954 after Dick obtained his master's degree in physics at USC.

Dick was deeply concerned about the future and security of the United States. Unable to continue in the military due to an injury, he opted for a career in the defense industry. In 1955, he joined the recently formed Hughes Santa Barbara Research Center (now Raytheon). They both fell in love with Santa Barbara and the ocean. This began their life-long love of sailboats, family trips to the Channel Islands and to the South Pacific. He later taught celestial navigation at Santa Barbara Power Squadron and was the navigator on a Transpac boat return trip from Hawaii. He was also lifelong student of world history, geopolitics and philosophy.

At Santa Barbara Research Center, Dick worked in the research of infrared sensors in the developing field of ballistic missile defense. There, he discovered what was to become a guiding principle for all subsequent infrared sensor design: That inserting a cold aperture in the sensor's optical path would limit the amount of stray radiation reaching the sensor, thereby reducing the sensor's noise while not affecting its signal. This soon led to a 1000 times improvement in the infrared sensor, making it possible to detect the missile's heat as it traveled through the atmosphere. These were exciting times at Santa Barbara Research Center where the newly developed "staring array infrared technology" was invented leading to a revolution in military sensing and astronomy.

But Dick's real talent and calling was his ability to work in what seemed an effortless way with people to bring out the best of their talents and efforts. Many long-time SBRC employees noted "He was the best Manager I ever had." Dick was appreciated for looking out for the best interests of the people and projects under his responsibility. In doing so, he was able to bring out the best in wide-ranging groups of people to make things happen. After retiring from Santa Barbara Research Center, Dick formed Brody and Associates Consulting helping Infra-Red companies in the Santa Barbara area develop and grow.

Dick also served on numerous community foundation boards. An example of his eclectic activities was on the board of the Daryl Errett Foundation which funded Research on Alzheimer's disease at UCSB. He was also a prominent member of the Goleta Rotary Club where one of his favorite projects was supporting the Los Prietos boys camp giving hope and purpose to youth.

Above all, Dick's guiding light was always the love and best interest of his family and his enduring friendship to the people he knew and loved. One could not wish for a truer or more faithful friend.

Services to be held Sunday, January 12 at 2-4:30 at Mulligans Café at Santa Barbara Municipal Golf Course. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to either: The Sarah House Hospice P.O. Box 20031, Santa Barbara, CA 93120. Or The Los Prietos Boys Camp 3900 Paradise Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93105