Obituary for Wolfgang-Martin Boerner Wolfgang-Martin Boerner, age 80, passed away on May 25, 2018. Wolfgang was born on July 26, 1937 in Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea, the eldest son of Martin Ernst Boerner and llse Stoss Boerner. The family served with the Lutheran Mission in New Guinea until evacuation to Australia in 1941.
From 1942 through 1947 his family lived in Tatura Internment Camp, Victoria. After an additional year at St. Peters Lutheran College in Indooroopilly, Brisbane, the family arrived at Neuendettelsau Lutheran Missionary Society near Nuremberg in 1948 as returnees to Germany. Wolfgang continued with his studies in Germany, graduating from the Technical University of Munich in 1963.
In September of that year, he arrived in the United States as Fulbright Scholar. Dr. Boerner received his PhD degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1967. From 1967 to 1968 he was with the University of Michigan.
From 1968 until 1978 he was with the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. In 1978 he joined the faculty of the the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago as Professor where he remained until his death as Professor Emeritus. Wolfgang was a Fellow of the IEEE, IEICE, OSA, and SPIE, a recipient of many awards and honorary degrees, and senior member of several international scientific societies.
He was a member of the honor society Sigma Xi, the American and German Fulbright Association, and the Alexander von Humboldt Association. Dr. Boerner was an eminent researcher in the general area of electromagnetics, especially in remote sensing and polarimetric imaging radar. His work propelled the development of polarimetric synthetic aperture radars, research and applications.
In the true sense a global citizen and global leader, Wolfgang traveled the world extensively, connecting people of many different cultures and communities. He was a scientific guide and mentor who continued to add new connections to his world-wide family until his death, always maintaining close relationships with family and life-long friends. With his boundless enthusiasm and energy, he was a constant of optimistic inspiration to his scientific community, while opening doors for his family and friends to the wonders of nature and world cultures beyond their borders.
Dr. Boerner is survived by his wife of 50 years, Eileen (née Hassebrock), and three children: son Vaughan and his wife Laura of Sammamish, Washington; son Allan of Sunnyvale, California; and daughter Joanna and her husband Dr. Jon Mathy of Auckland, New Zealand with their two sons, Max and Merrick. Wolfgang is also survived by his brother Horst Börner, with his wife Ingrid and daughter Mira of Sindelfingen, Germany. Wolfgang was loved by many people around the world and leaves behind many friends.
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