Andrew Kaldor
October 11, 1944 - April 28, 2023
Andrew Kaldor passed away comfortably at home surrounded by family on April 28th, 2023. He was born in Budapest, Hungary on October 11th, 1944, four months before the city’s liberation from the Nazis by Soviet forces. Along with his parents and sister, he survived the Holocaust thanks to Raoul Wallenberg’s heroic efforts to save Hungarian Jews. After the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, Andrew and his family escaped to Austria and then to the United States, where they made Berkeley, California their home. He graduated with a BSc in Chemistry from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Cornell. In 1967, he married Sandra Jean Lewis, a fellow UC Berkeley graduate. The two went on to raise their children, Eric and Tamara, instilling in them a passion for adventure, research, advocacy, the arts, and hosting gatherings filled with great food, music, and conversations.
Andrew worked as a physical chemist at the National Bureau of Standards and then at ExxonMobil Research and Engineering (EMRE), where he worked for 33 years rising to the position of Distinguished Scientific Advisor. In his research, he combined a spark for creativity with a passion for experimental work, resulting in over 150 scholarly publications. His research and development work spanned a wide range, including laser isotope separation, Buckyballs and nanotechnology, bioremediation technology for oil spills, catalysis to produce ultra low-sulfur diesel, and technology for hydrogen purification. He loved to collaborate with other researchers to solve complex problems, particularly his long-time colleague, Donald Cox, with whom he published over 100 papers. Many of these projects were first sketched out on cocktail napkins over memorable dinners. As a research manager, he loved to promote the achievements of his colleagues and savored chances to mentor many of them to the next level of their careers. In the last decade of his career, inspired by work with colleagues at EMRE’s Baton Rouge labs, Andrew promoted a new approach for accelerating breakthrough technology development in industrial research at ExxonMobil and beyond.
Andrew lived life to its fullest traveling the world, sharing his favorite restaurants and wines with friends and family, and exploring national parks and the natural world. He had a special gift for finding what he was looking for, whether a parking spot in Manhattan or a moose in Wyoming. He found pleasure in a great view, the perfect cup of coffee (preferably a double espresso), chocolate, and a rigorous debate. He was a master storyteller, sharing tales from across his life such as how he learned to swim by being thrown into the middle of Lake Balaton, served as a tour guide to American college students traveling around Italy as a 13-year-old, or avoided being swindled at the pyramids by speaking Hungarian. Andrew lived life as a series of adventures. In everything, he was committed to his family and sharing the joy he found in the world with them.
He is survived by his wife, Sandra Kaldor; children Tamara Kaldor (Paul Wells) and Eric Kaldor (Lynne Moulton); and grandchildren, Isabella, Ellie, Leo, and Isaac; as well as his sister Judy Somorjai (Gabor Somorjai) and brother-in-law, Don Lewis (Ilza Lewis). He is predeceased by his parents, Lenke Kaldor and Ernő Kaldor, who exemplified perseverance in the face of adversity.
Donations
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the International Rescue Committee.
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