Michael Trachtenberg

This is a heartfelt commemoration of Dr. Michael Trachtenberg, an amazing man who influenced and impacted all who knew him.

He was the quintessential New York Jewish Scientist. His abrasive brilliance was his charm. His love of family and friends, combined with his intellectually charged repartee allowed him to make every interaction an opportunity to pass on knowledge - making everyone around him a learner. Those who met him have never known anyone like him before or since. He was an enormous force of energy and knowledge, inspiring many friends who saw him as a man who always "faced into the wind".

A family friend wrote, “With his passing I feel mediocrity rising, the world will forever be a bit shabbier, the wonder and power of raw knowledge somewhat dimmed. I intend to think of him with conspiratorial humor every time I simultaneously mock, love and educate someone. Thank you, Dr. Trachtenberg, for making the world a more enlightened, interesting and entertaining place for all of us. You will be missed.”

Born NYC 6/23/1941. Dr. Trachtenberg was a graduate of Stuyvesant and CCNY and received his PhD in Neuroscience from UCLA. He did his post-doctoral work at Harvard/MGH and the Brain Research Institute in Zurich, CH. Among many awards, Dr. Trachtenberg was recognized by the NIH for his innovative research in Epilepsy and developed a risk analysis for astronauts, for NASA's “Man on Mars” Mission. He was also a prolific inventor and was an expert in the field of carbon capture and sequestration.

He passed on July 2nd, after a battle with cancer, surrounded by those who were most enamored of his wit and brilliance - his family.

He was loved and will always be remembered by his wife, Judie, his children and their families, Liza and Ira Sider, Pilar and Daryl Burmeister, JoshuaTrachtenberg and Audrey Prins, Amy and David Patent, and his 12 grandchildren, Alexandra, Maximilian, Aaron, Miriam, Zander, Aurora, Misha, Eitan, Naomi, Talia, Asher and Lila, and his brother and his wife, Lloyd and Terry Trachtenberg.