Barry Schechtman

Barry Schechtman Obituary

Barry Herman Schechtman, of San Diego, California, passed away peacefully in the early morning of October 5, 2025.

Rooted in his Jewish upbringing, Barry's life was guided by a deep sense of family, friendship, learning, and generosity. After earning his engineering degree from Cooper Union, he moved to California to pursue his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. Following his studies, Barry joined IBM's San Jose Research Laboratory-the birthplace of the hard disk drive-where he made significant contributions to the fields of magnetic recording materials, read/write head design, and device architecture.

After a distinguished career at IBM, Barry became Executive Director of the National Storage Industry Consortium (NSIC, later INSIC), an organization uniting leading U.S. companies and universities in storage research. There, he oversaw groundbreaking collaborations on next-generation recording heads, media, tribology, and servo systems, continuing his lifelong commitment to innovation and education.

A thoughtful interview chronicling Barry's life and career can be found on the Museum of Computer History's website:

https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102717905/?media=135862

Barry found great joy in travel and in sharing new experiences with his beloved life partner, Marjolaine. He treasured gatherings with family and friends, whether playing bridge, exploring new places, or celebrating Thanksgiving and Passover-occasions that reflected his warmth, curiosity, and love of connection.

Barry is survived by his wife, Marjolaine Tourangeau, his sons Andrew and Robert, his daughter Christiane, and his grandchildren Ashley, Chad, Lauren, Maya, and Ari. His legacy endures in the love he shared, the knowledge he advanced, and the many lives he touched.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Times of San Diego on Oct. 8, 2025.

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