Fermilab retiree Robert (Bob) Trendler, born on March 17, 1939, died on Sunday morning, Jan. 26.
Bob joined the lab in 1971 not long after its founding and retired in March 2002 after almost 31 years. He became the leader of electrical operations in the Accelerator Section very soon after joining. By 1973 he was head of operations in the Meson Area Department. What followed was a successful and extremely productive career in which he took on ever increasing responsibility as a leader of electrical and electronics groups or departments in the Research Division or Particle Physics Division. In 1991 he became an associate head of the Research Division, and in 1995 he became its deputy head. Every project undertaken in the Fermilab research program had Bob’s imprint on it.
He was an engineer of exceptional talent and an outstanding manager. Throughout his long career his good nature and his sense of humor never failed him. It was always a pleasure to work with him, and he was counted as a valued friend by many of his co-workers. He never passed up an opportunity to serve the laboratory or his fellow employees. He served on the Environment Safety and Health Policy Advisory Committee, Engineering Policy Committee, the Auditorium Committee, and the Library Advisory Committee. As a leader and champion of the broader Fermilab engineering community he pressed effectively for recognition of the important role and value engineers have in the success of the lab’s scientific programs.
After retiring he maintained his close connections with the laboratory and could often be seen participating at laboratory functions. The family plans to hold a celebration of life gathering for Bob later this summer.