When Erwin Bareiss began leading Northwestern’s computer science and engineering department in 1978, computers were a foreign concept to the average American.
Bareiss, 80, of Northbrook, Ill., died Feb. 4 of Parkinson’s disease, but he lived to see computers become an integral part of everyday life.
“He came here at the very beginning of growth in computer science and numerical analysis and was quite instrumental in having (those fields) flourish and do well,” said Gilbert Krulee, a retired NU computer and electrical engineering professor who was Bareiss’s longtime friend and colleague.
“I think he will be missed most for his contribution to applied math and applying math techniques to work in engineering,” Krulee said.
Born in Switzerland, Bareiss weathered World War II as a lieutenant in the Swiss army and received his doctorate in mathematics from the University of Zurich. He proved the teachers who told him studying English would be useless wrong when he immigrated to the United States in 1951 to continue his studies at Lehigh University. Bareiss fell in love with the United States and became a naturalized citizen in 1957.
Before arriving at NU in 1970, Bareiss conducted submarine safety research for the U.S. Navy and worked for 20 years at Argonne National Laboratory to develop more efficient computer technology. He also spent a year as a guest lecturer at Harvard University.
But his desire for “interaction with students and the autonomy that comes with being in academia,” drew Bareiss to NU, his family said. Bareiss became a professor in the computer science and engineering department, and served as department chairman from 1978 to 1988. He retired in 1994 after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
“He loved working at NU,” said John Bareiss, one of his sons. “A testament to how much he liked working is that he worked until 70 years of age … even though he had saved enough to retire before then.”
Bareiss won the teacher of the year award several times during his career at NU.
“His belief was that everyone always tried their hardest (and he) gave them the benefit of the doubt,” his son said.
His father was energetically devoted to his work, family and life — from the many years he spent at NU to the 30 pushups he did daily until he was 70 years old, John Bareiss said.
“He had a lot of zest for life — all the way to the end he was fighting to stay alive,” his son said. “He wasn’t afraid of death, but he definitely wanted to hang on and enjoy life.”
Bareiss is survived by his wife, Doris; another son, Peter; a brother, Eugene; and 10 grandchildren.
