Robert Melvin Colton

Robert (Bob) M. Colton, aged 90, passed away June 4, 2023, in Silver Spring, MD. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the third child of Harry A. and Pauline R. Colton. He grew up in Brookline, MA, where he attended Edward Devotion School and Brookline High School. As a child he took up photography, a hobby that continued into his adulthood and which he passed along to his sons. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Metallurgy from MIT in 1953, where he ran track and studied in the bleachers of Fenway Park. Upon graduation, Bob was employed by the Chrysler Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, and simultaneously enrolled at Chrysler Institute of Technology, where he received his Master of Automotive Engineering in 1955. During his time in Detroit, he met and married the love of his life, Janis R. Lazar. They were married for 67 years. He served in the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1958. Bob worked at the U.S. Army Materials and Mechanics Research Center in Watertown, MA, from 1956 until 1973. He was awarded a U.S. Army research fellowship to the University of Birmingham, England, in 1970. In 1973, Bob joined the National Science Foundation in Washington, DC. There, Bob created programs that applied academic research to national needs (RANN), which eventually became the Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC) program. He also led the development of many university innovation centers.

Early in his adulthood, Bob was an avid bowler. He liked to work on his house and cars with his sons, was an accomplished photographer, and became an artist, which he enjoyed throughout his life. His media included pencils, charcoal, pastels, acrylic and oil paints, and overhead transparencies. His artwork was in high demand from his friends and family. Bob's art was very colorful and tended towards the geometric, influenced by his drafting skills as well as Picasso, Kandinsky, Braque, Giacometti, Hoffman, Warhol, and other modern artists. He also worked in mixed media, crafting three-dimensional mobiles, stabiles, and paintings. He fabricated technology-based sculptures from objects such as nails, rear view mirrors, sights, blocks of metal and stone, assorted plumbing, and reentry nose cones. He even taught himself to play the guitar. Bob and Janis loved to travel and visited a great many countries around the world. Bob was an active member of Temple Sinai of Washington, DC, serving on its board of directors.

Bob was predeceased by his sister Phyllis Vazakas and his brother Nelson Colton. Bob is survived by his wife Janis Colton; sons Jonathan (Rachael) Colton, Laurence (Jennifer) Colton, and Michael (Tamara) Colton; grandchildren Gavriella, Riannon, Gared, Jeremy, Adira, and Benjamin Colton; nieces Meryl (Tony) Sloan, Debra Rose, Lisa Colton, and Julia (Eric) Kramer; and many grandnieces and grandnephews.