In Memoriam: Eli Brookner
On November 29, 2021 the IEEE Boston Section lost one of its longest-serving and most dedicated volunteers, Eli Brookner. Eli was a Lexington resident since 1962 and a Principal Engineering Fellow at Raytheon.
He was the husband of the late Ethel (Bobick) Brookner. Eli was born in Brooklyn, New York on April 2, 1931, the son of the late Angel and Fanny Brookner. He was a graduate of Stuyvesant High School in New York City. Eli received a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at City College in 1953 where he met his future wife.
Eli received a ScD in electrical engineering from Columbia University in 1962.
During his career as a radar systems engineer at Raytheon from 1962 - 2014 (52 years), he played a major role as a technical authority and consultant and made significant contributions to the development of over twenty radar and phased array radar system programs for civil and defense applications.
He published more than 230 papers, technical talks, and technical correspondences during his career and was awarded 10 patents.
Eli authored four popular books on radar and related topics: • Radar Technology, Artech House, 1977. • Aspects of Modern Radar, Artech House, 1988 • Practical Phased Array Antenna Systems, Artech House, 1991 • Tracking and Kalman Filtering Made Easy, Wiley, 1998.
He was a legendary local, national, and international lecturer on radar and related topics. He developed and presented many, many lecture series and short courses during over 50 years to over 10,000 attendees, particularly in the local IEEE Boston Section and in 25 other countries on all continents except Antarctica.
For many, many years Eli was the Chair of the local IEEE Boston Section Chapter of the Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society. He planned and conducted many Chapter meetings each year with technical speakers on radar and related topics.
Eli was one of the originators of the IEEE Boston Section’s IEEE International Symposium on Phased Array Systems and Technology. He served on the Planning Committees of all six symposia held thus far during 1996, 2003, 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2019 and served as Chair of the Planning Committees of the 1996 and 2003 symposia.
Eli served on the Planning Committees of the IEEE Boston Section’s International Radar Conferences held thus far during 1993, 1999, 2007, and 2019 and he served as Chair of the Planning Committee of the 2007 conference.
Eli was a Life Member of the IEEE and an IEEE Fellow. He received the IEEE Dennis J. Picard Medal and Warren White Award for Excellence in Radar Engineering, plus IEEE Centennial and Millennium medals. Eli was the first recipient of the IEEE Boston Section Volunteer Award, later known as the IEEE Boston Section Distinguished Service Award.
Eli leaves behind two sons Lawrence Brookner of Paris, France and Richard Brookner of Sunnyvale, California; a grandson Daniel Brookner; a nephew Jonathan Liebowitz; and a sister-in-law Anita Raynes.
Eli’s humor, wit, and enthusiasm will be missed by all. Donations in his memory may be made to the American Cancer Society, 3 Speen Street, Framingham, MA 01701 (www.cancer.org).
Published by Boston Globe from Dec. 3 to Dec. 4, 2021, with editing and IEEE enhancements by the IEEE Boston Section