Anna Longobardo

1928 - 2020
Anna Kazanjian Longobardo of Bronxville, NY and Amagansett, NY passed away on December 7, 2020. She is survived by her husband Guy S. Longobardo, her son Guy A. Longobardo (Michele Epley), daughter Alicia Longobardo Wyckoff (Robert Wyckoff) and her grandchildren Alice Longobardo, Anne Longobardo Donado (Eric Donado), Amelia Wyckoff and Harrison Wyckoff. She was predeceased by her sister Mildred.

Anna was born in New York City to Aram and Zarouhy Kazanjian. She attended Barnard College and Columbia University, was the first woman to receive a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1949, and later received her MS, with honors in Mechanical Engineering, from Columbia.

Mrs. Longobardo was a trailblazer in the field of engineering and was among the first women to work on board U.S. Navy submarines and destroyers. Her innovative work included increasing navigational accuracy for submarines operating below periscope depth, work on the Atlas missile targeting systems, and weapon design and ballistics on the tail guns of the B-52 bomber. She started her career at American Bosch Arma and joined Sperry Gyroscope, later Unisys, in 1965 and was a program manager for Air Force, Federal Highway Administration, and Defense Department programs. When she retired in 1995, Mrs. Longobardo was a senior executive in Unisys Corporation's defense group, heading a worldwide unit supporting complex military systems. She was also a director of Woodward-Clyde Group, an engineering consulting firm.

Mrs. Longobardo received the Columbia University School of Engineering's Egleston Award for Distinguished Engineering Achievement, the first woman to do so, and was a fellow of the Society of Women Engineers. She inspired women engineers across the globe, actively supporting their education and careers. She was a founder of the Armenian National Science and Education Fund, created to support scientists and scholars in Armenia.

Mrs. Longobardo received the Columbia University Alumni Medal for Service in 1980, was the first woman president of the Columbia Engineering Alumni Society, was chair of the Engineering School Board of Visitors, and was the first woman and two-term president of the Columbia University Alumni Federation. From 1990 to 1996 she was an Alumni Trustee of Columbia University and was a Trustee Emerita at the time of her death.

Mrs. Longobardo was a longtime Bronxville resident. She served as Chairwoman of the Bronxville Design Review Committee and on the Bronxville Planning Board, where she was Vice Chairperson, for over two decades.

Yet, nothing made Mrs. Longobardo happier than her time with her family. She truly believed in the power of love, and was very proud of her husband, children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. She was a remarkable, accomplished, loyal, and giving woman, who was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother.

In lieu of flowers, donations to The Armenian National Science and Education Fund (ANSEF), Fund for Armenian Relief, 630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016 (far@farusa.org) or to the Columbia University School of Engineering, c/o Columbia University Gift Systems, P.O. Box 1523, Attn: Columbia Engineering/Longobardo Scholarship Fund, New York, NY 10008 (seasdonorrelations@columbia.edu), would be greatly appreciated.