A tribute to Ferdinand Freudenstein

Ferdinand, Grandma Libby's second husband, passed away on Thursday, March 30th 2006. Unfortunately, Ferdinand had been sick for a while and it has been a number of years since he was really himself. I remember when he used with Grandma when we were kids. He was always kibbitzing with the children. A gentle man with a kind heart. None of the children had any idea that Ferdinand was a genius from the way he would pretend to forget our names and forget whose birthday it was.

If you google his name you will find that he was the Higgins Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University. There were biographies written about him such as Forty Years of Modern Kinematics: A Tribute to Ferdinand Freudenstein. He basically revolutionized the field of Physics by inventing the entire field of Kinematics. He was given a lifetime achievement award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and there is even an award that was named after Ferdy called the Freudenstein Award for significant contributions to mechanisms and robotics.

It seems like Ferdinand has been missing for a long time, but we finally are prompted by his passing to say goodbye. We were honored to have him a part of our family. Although Ferdinand is gone, we know that Grandma Libby has many, many more productive years ahead of her to spend with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren - in America and in Israel.