Walter R. Buerger, Jr.
March 3, 1944 – November 25, 2022
Walter Richard Buerger, Jr. of Ithaca, New York, passed away on November 25, 2022 at Strong Hospital in Rochester, New York, as a result of a massive stroke four days earlier.
He was born on March 3, 1944, in San Francisco to Walter Richard Buerger M.D. and Elizabeth Noe Buerger. His mother having died during a polio outbreak later that year; Walter was later adopted by Mary Moot Buerger, his father’s second wife, and grew up with his four siblings in southern California. He graduated from Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program at University of Colorado at Boulder in 1968 and served as an officer in the Strategic Air Command.
Walter was a researcher and inventor, known for his detailed research, interdisciplinary knowledge and very ambitious goals to make a difference in the world. At Boulder, he pursued a thesis research project involving an AI vision system. In 1979, his patent application was granted for a pattern recognition system he developed as an employee of Excellon Industries, Inc. This was followed closely by a patent on a topological transformation system, followed by other patents for the company.
His subsequent independent work included patents for three dimensional semiconductor development and nano technology for medical cures. Partners in this work included Dr. Jakob H. Hohl, Dr. Mary L. Long and Kent Ridgeway.
Walter is survived by his sister Caroline Pettus and his brothers Martin Buerger, Ted Buerger and John Buerger. Walter struggled with mental health challenges, especially in his later years, and the family requests that donations in lieu of flowers be given to National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) at https://nami.org/Home.