Michael J. Rabins

February 24, 1932 – September 30, 2007

Michael J. Rabins, 75, died Sunday, September 30, 2007 from complications due to leukemia. A memorial service open to all will be at 3 p.m. Friday, October 5 at Memorial Funeral Chapel in College Station.

Dr. Rabins was a professor emeritus of mechanical engineering at Texas A&M University. His proudest professional achievement was co-authoring Engineering Ethics: Concepts and Cases, with Michael S. Pritchard and Charles E. Harris. The book is a best-selling text and has been translated into many languages.

Dr. Rabins held teaching posts in India, Japan, Berkeley and France, and worked for the Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C. He was a professor at Brooklyn Polytechnic and New York University and chaired the Mechanical Engineering Departments at Wayne State University and Texas A&M University. He was active in his professional societies, particularly the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

His professional success was only superseded by the happiness he created in his personal life. He traveled the world with his wife and family, and was always happiest when he could be with the people he loved.

Dr. Rabins was born February 24, 1932, in New York City. He received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin in 1959, his master's of science degree from Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1954 and his bachelor's of science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1953.

Survivors include his beloved wife of 51 years, Joan of College Station; sons, Andrew and wife, Teresa Borzcik, St. Paul, Minn., and Evan and wife, Yee-Way Chow, of Los Angeles; daughter, Alix and husband, Jeff Clyburn, of Maplewood, N.J.; grandchildren, Sophia of St. Paul, Minn., and Dexter and Julius of Maplewood, N.J.; sister, Elaine Adamenko and husband, Robert, of Fort Lee, N.J.; nephew, Robert Adamenko and wife, Liza Josephson, of West Hartfod, Conn.; nieces, Katherine Adamenko of New York City and Jennifer Wrynn Foman and husband, Gregory, of Dallas; great-nieces, Elise of West Hartford, Conn., and Aubrey of Dallas; stepsister, Ellen Cohen and husband, Hugh, of Ann Arbor, Mich.; and brother-in-law, Simon Wrynn of Herndon, Va.