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TV Pioneer, USF Trustee Dressler Dies At Age 83

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By RAY REYES and GEORGE H. NEWMAN

rreyes@tampatrib.com and gnewman@tampatrib.com

Published: November 19, 2008

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  Robert Dressler

A pioneer in the development of color television, radar, satellite reconnaissance and other technologies for the Department of Defense died today after attending a University of South Florida investment meeting.

USF Foundation trustee Robert Dressler collapsed at the meeting about 1:30 p.m., university officials said. Dressler, 83, was taken to a local hospital, where he died.

"We are profoundly saddened by the death of one of our closest and most devoted friends," USF President Judy Genshaft said in a statement. "Bob Dressler was a wonderful person. We benefited from his wise counsel and his tireless commitment to USF's mission."

Family friend Steven Ash of Tampa said Dressler "was very instrumental in supporting the university" and helped USF get a $45 million research grant from the Department of Defense.

"He was truly a man who lived a full and accomplished life," said Ash, who added that when he was in college, Dressler helped him tackle physics and math.

Dressler was born in New York on May 5, 1925, and served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. During his stint in the military, Dressler helped develop advancements in electronics and worked on one of the first cameras used in spy satellites that flew over Russia, said his widow, Edith Dressler.

After his time in the military, Dressler served as director of research and president for Autometric Corp., a company now owned by Boeing Aircraft. He also served on the National Television Systems Committee, a technical group that formulated the standard for color television.

Dressler received bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from Columbia University and received an honorary doctorate in science from USF in 1997. He has served as a USF Foundation trustee since 1982.

In a statement, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio called Dressler "an outstanding human being. So intelligent. So perceptive. And so caring of the community and the larger world we live in."

Ash said Dressler often told him people measure life by how many times the earth revolves around the sun. Instead, people should measure life by how much they accomplish with the time they are given, Dressler said.

By that standard, Dressler "lived for 250 years," Ash said.

Funeral services will be held 10 a.m. Friday at Congregation Rodeph Sholom Synagogue, 2713 Bayshore Blvd.

Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 259-7920.

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