Robert G. Silberman

Robert (Bob) Silberman passed away on January 17, 2024 at Groton Community Health Care Center at the age of 84. He was born on August 20, 1939 to the late Joseph (George) and Edith Pankin Silberman. Bob grew up in Brooklyn, NY, attending Stuyvesant High School and Brooklyn College. There he met the love of his life, June Forman, and they married in 1961.
Bob attended Cornell University for his masters degree and PhD in organic chemistry. He then moved to Cortland where he taught at SUNY Cortland as a professor of organic chemistry for 36 years. An authority on the teaching of chemistry, he was a frequent contributor to the Journal of Chemical Education, publishing over 20 articles, and collaborated with four other chemists to write a textbook with accompanying lab manuals, Chemistry In Context, for the American Chemical Society. Bob also developed a series of lab experiments for high schools to use in teaching chemistry, Small Scale Laboratory Manual, which continues to be used all over the United States.
Bob was invited to lecture in several foreign countries - Mexico, Russia, and Japan. He was an active member of the American Chemical Society (ACS), presenting numerous papers. He was a member of the Division of Chemical Education of the ACS and was the National Program Chair for this organization for three years. He also was a member of the National Science Teaching Association and Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Honor Society.
Four years before he retired, Bob and his wife moved back to Ithaca. After retirement, he volunteered at the Sciencenter and developed a chemistry show for visitors, Chemsations. He trained high school students to present these shows which are still offered in the Sciencenter auditorium. He also co-authored two grant proposals to the Dreyfus Foundation for funds to develop museum chemistry programs for children. In addition, he was a consultant for the Smithsonian Institution on the Science in American Life exhibition, and a consultant for American College Testing (ACT) for which he prepared six sets of examination questions for yearly examinations from 1985 until he retired.
For over fifteen years Bob and his wife were figure skaters, doing ice dancing as members of the Cortland Figure Skating Club. In the summers, he and his wife hiked through over 30 parks in the United States, Canada, and Europe. A long-time woodworking hobbyist, Bob became a wood turner late in life and was a member of Handwork Artisan Cooperative in Ithaca, displaying and selling his wood-turned bowls, and also sold bowls at various area craft fairs. An avid birdwatcher, in the spring he was a volunteer walk leader for 5th grade students at Cornell's Laboratory of Ornithology. During the walks, he directed the students' attention to the different habitats and their characteristics as well as identifying birds that frequent the area. He also participated in the Migration Celebration held yearly at the Laboratory of Ornithology. Earlier in life Bob pursued multiple hobbies including swimming (he spent several summers teaching swimming through the Red Cross), playing squash, boating and fishing, raising tropical fish, reading mystery novels, and cooking. He made homemade sausage and pickles, and won a blue ribbon for his pickles at the New York State Fair.
Bob leaves behind his beloved wife of 62 years, June, two children - Peter Silberman (Jen Kagan) of Ithaca and Ellen Shapiro-Smith (Ricky Johansson) of Lowell, Mass., a grandson, Gabriel Shapiro of Lowell, Mass., a brother, Allen Silberman (Marjorie Waxman) of Philadelphia, several cousins, and several nieces and nephews.
Per his wishes, there will be no services. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to the Sciencenter, 601 First St., Ithaca NY 14850. sciencenter.org.