David H. Staelin

1938 - 2011

(News article) An Ottawa Hills High School graduate who became a Massachusetts Institute of Technology student and then faculty member known for his research in radio astronomy and instruments to monitor the climate, David H. Staelin died Nov. 10 in his home in Wellesley, Mass. He was 73 and had cancer.

He was a professor of electrical engineering and retired in July because of his illness.

Six days before he died, he finished a monograph on which he and his son collaborated, Models for Neural Spike Computation and Cognition.

"He loved what he did, and he was still active and creative in his research," his wife, Ellen, said.

He received his bachelor's and master's degrees and doctorate from MIT and joined the faculty in 1965. Through his work in radio astronomy, he helped discover the Crab Nebula pulsar, which confirmed the existence of neutron stars.

His work led to instruments that detected holes in the ozone layer and mapped global temperatures. He was part of a group that developed technology to make video conferencing practical, not just fanciful.

"He had a broad curiosity about the world and was always looking at ways he knew he could have an impact," said Greg Wornell, a student of his and then a colleague at MIT.

Mr. Staelin helped start and direct three companies with colleagues and students and later co-founded a service to support nascent enterprises that grew out of MIT. He taught undergraduates and co-wrote a textbook. He taught, supervised, and guided grad students.

"He was a very inspirational guy," Mr. Wornell said. "Dave wasn't in this business for himself. He really believed his work was in the service of the nation.

"He was a remarkably humble guy. He felt you work for a higher cause, and you do your best, and that's the way you should live life."

In July, he was awarded the John Howard Dellinger Medal from the International Union of Radio Science, in part for his "seminal contributions" to the remote sensing of the Earth's environment from space.

His father, Carl, was head of the legal and patent department at Owens Corning. At the family's Evergreen Road home, "there were a lot of conversations about technological advances," said his brother, Stephen, a retired managing partner of Ernst & Young's Toledo office. At 10, he and a friend built amateur radios and communicated in Morse code with hams around the world. His interest in technology was further nurtured in the Ottawa Hills schools.

"He would tell you he had terrific teachers at Ottawa Hills who were totally dedicated to their professions," said his brother, a former Ottawa Hills school board president and a former Toledo Zoo board president.

He returned to the Toledo area often over the years.

Surviving are his wife, Ellen, whom he married June 16, 1962; sons, Carl and Paul; daughter, Katharine; sister, Mimi Ferrell; brothers, Earl and Stephen Staelin, and six grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Friday at the George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home, Wellesley. Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Unitarian-Universalist Society of Wellesley Hills, Wellesley.

The family suggests tributes to support PBS NewsHour through the PBS Foundation, Arlington, Va., in care of Brian Reddington or to a charity of the donor's choice.

Contact Blade staff writer Mark Zaborney at: mzaborney@theblade.com or 419-724-6182.