Roland W. Schmitt, American technology executive and academic administrator, Died at 93

  Educator

Roland Walter Schmitt was born on July 24, 1923, in Seguin, Texas and died on March 31, 2017.

He was a physicist, business executive and the sixteenth president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

His parents were Walter L. Schmitt and Myrtle F. (Caldwell) Schmitt.

Schmitt married Alice V. Calhoun on June 2, 1951 (b. February 12, 1930) and they had two sons: Lorenz (b. 1952) and Brian (b. 1954).

She died on July 17, 1956.

Later, he married Claire F. Kunz (b. 1928) on September 19, 1957; they had two children: Alice (b. 1958) and Henry (b. 1961).

Roland W. Schmitt graduated from the University of Texas with a B.S. in physics and a B.A. in mathematics, both in 1947 and a master’s degree in physics in 1948.

His received a P.h.D. in physics from Rice University in 1951.

Schmitt, then, joined General Electric as a research associate and remained with the company until his retirement in 1988.

From 1978-1986, Schmitt directed the General Electric Research and Development Center in Schenectady, New York.

In 1982, Schmitt was appointed senior vice president.

Roland Walter Schmitt passed away at 93 years old.