Dr. Robert Weber, 81

Northborough - Dr. Robert Weber, a retired MIT physicist, died peacefully in his home early Wednesday morning, Jan. 2, 2008.

Dr. Weber grew up in both Brooklyn and New Jersey. He had fond memories of his family life during the Depression and often spoke kindly of his parents, brothers and sisters. Under his father's influence, Dr. Weber became a teen expert in radio communications when he enlisted in the Army in 1944. He was assigned to Japan and honorably discharged in March 1945. He then served as a technical advisor in Korea for the U.S War Department while working for RCA from 1945 to 1949.

Dr. Weber met his wife, Chung-Hi (Helen) Koh, in Korea. They married in 1949 and they both drove across the United States in the early 1950s, a trip Dr. Weber remembered fondly. He and his wife raised seven children together: Robert G. Weber; Lesley Gustafson; William Weber; Linda Weber; Anthony Weber, predeceased; Carl Weber; and Teresa Weber. He was also father-in-law to Gerry Gustafson, Tim Pierson and Kelly (O'Neill) Weber and a proud grandfather of seven children.

In 1956, Dr. Weber received a BA/BS from the University of Vermont and, in 1958, his master's degree from the MIT Department of Physics. He then received his Ph.D in physics from Tufts University in 1961.

He worked for Lincoln Laboratory/MIT for 34 years starting in 1962. During his career, he co-developed a program, LINEAR, which detected asteroids near Earth. As a result of his research, Dr. Weber and his team discovered seven asteroids in the mid 1990s. He also led the team that developed the U.S. Air Force's deep space satellite tracking network.

His work led him around the world to Spain, Italy, Portugal, China and the islands of the Indian Ocean. He was a Member of Phi Beta Kappa, the American Physical Society, IEEE, and Sigma XI.

A funeral service was held Jan. 5 from the Hays Funeral Home of Northborough, with burial at Howard Street Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the Gladden Community House, 183 Hawkes Ave., Columbus, OH 43223-1533.