Dr. Arthur Gelb
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Dr. Arthur Gelb, a prominent entrepreneur, scientist and philanthropist, who was devoted to his family, passed away on November 8, 2023 at his home in Belmont, MA. A distinguished entrepreneur, who founded The Analytical Sciences Corporation or TASC, he leaves behind an amazing legacy of accomplishments that have advanced technology, higher education, medical research and culture.
Dr. Gelb was a man of many gifts. Among these tremendous qualities were his powerful intellect and curiosity, from mathematics and finance to music and politics. His quick mind and rational thinking made him highly sought out for advice on innumerable topics by countless family, friends, colleagues and leaders from many walks of life. His sense of humor, honesty and humanity endeared him to all.
Arthur Gelb was born on September 20, 1937 in Brooklyn, NY to his father, Charles Gelb, the child of immigrants from Galicia (now Poland), and his mother, Rose, an immigrant from Russia escaping the pogroms against Jews. His father drove a delivery truck and later a taxicab. Both succumbed to cancer and Arthur was orphaned at the age of 16. He attended City College of New York (CCNY), which he referred to as ‘the poor man’s Harvard’, and to which he later became a prominent donor. While at CCNY, Arthur met Linda Lewis, and they married soon after his graduation in 1958. That was the start of an incredible partnership and love story that spanned 65 years highlighted by three children and 10 grandchildren.
Following CCNY, Arthur received his S.M. in Applied Physics from Harvard University (NSF Fellow) in 1959 and went on to receive his ScD in Systems Engineering from MIT in 1961. A student in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ famed Instrumentation Program under Dr. Charles Draper, Arthur started what would become a lifelong relationship of learning with and giving back to MIT. He was a Life Member Emeritus of the MIT Corporation, a member of several MIT Visiting Committees; a member of the Lincoln Laboratory Advisory Board and a Member Emeritus of the C.S. Draper Laboratory Corporation.
In 1966, Dr. Gelb co-founded TASC and became its CEO and Chairman. Having worked on navigation systems at MIT and the Dynamic Research Corporation, Dr. Gelb quickly led TASC to become known for solving many of the most difficult problems in its industry. TASC’s activities included advanced navigation, guidance and communication systems for national defense; intelligence data collection, system design and operation; civilian weather data collection and distribution; and power utility software. Under his direction, TASC experienced 27 consecutive years of growth and employed over 2300 full-time employees in 25 locations worldwide. In 1991, he received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award-Service Businesses, given by Inc. Magazine.
Following TASC’s acquisition by Primark Corporation, Dr. Gelb became president of Four Sigma Corporation which focused on development and use of quantitative trading methods for financial markets. While a seeming departure from advanced systems, Dr. Gelb had a long history of interest in financial markets, having even written a book in the 1960’s titled Making Money in Commodity Futures under a pen name.
A scientist by nature, Dr. Gelb published over 25 papers in technical journals, co-authored Multiple-Input Describing Functions and Nonlinear Systems Design (McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1968) and was editor and co-author of Applied Optimal Estimation (MIT Press, 1974; 22nd printing in 2012). He also held a patent in the area of medical instrumentation.
Dr. Gelb was a philanthropist, giving both time and financial support to the organizations he believed in or where he felt that his contributions would do the most good. As he wrote in his autobiography, Making My Way, “each of us must recognize our duty to work for the betterment of society by sharing our one truly priceless asset: our time.” From the 1970s through 2000s, he served on multiple public sector boards including the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Port Authority and the Massachusetts Board of Regents of Higher Education. He had a lifelong love of music often saying “music moves me emotionally the way few things can” and was an Overseer Emeritus of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Throughout his multi-layered life of achievement, he was recognized by a wide range of organizations including as a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers, the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, where he also chaired the Investment Committee.
His passion was truly solving difficult problems and he turned his great philanthropic focus towards curing cancer, a disease that was intensely personal for him. A member of the Executive Committee of the Board and later a Distinguished Trustee of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dr. Gelb saw a rare opportunity to bring the talents of MIT’s Koch institute and the Harvard/Dana Farber Cancer Institute together in 2010 under The Bridge Project, which has become a highly successful collaboration attracting extensive funding.
Beyond his incredible accomplishments, Arthur Gelb will always be remembered as a caring husband, father, and grandfather. He was predeceased by his beloved son, Ronald Gelb. He and his devoted wife, Linda Gelb, raised their family in Lexington, MA: Ronald (Nanci Gelb), Caren (Gary Zakon), and Laurie (Richard Gliklich). He was a cherished grandfather to 10 grandchildren: Arielle, Andy, Sydney and Theodore Gelb; Meredith (Louis Arens), Allie and Daniel Zakon; and, Emily, Jennifer and Benjamin Gliklich.
A service will be held at Temple Reyim, 1860 Washington St, Auburndale, MA on November 12, 2023 at 1P.M. Interment to follow at Beit Olam Cemetery in Wayland. Shiva will be held at his late residence, 135 Marsh St., Belmont, following the interment until 8:00 pm on Sunday, Monday 3:00-5:00 pm and 7:00 -9:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to The Bridge Project, DFCI Philanthropy, 10 Brookline Place West, Brookline, MA 02445 or Good Shepherd Community Care, 160 Wells Avenue, Newton, MA 02459. .