Byron Joel Bergert died at home with his wife and two children at his side on April 27, 2013.

Byron was born in Manhatten, NY in 1945 to the late Uriel Bergert and Lois Sheard Bergert. He grew up in Miami and graduated from North Miami High School. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the University of Florida. While working on a Ph.D. in Communication Sciences he published research in the neurophysiology of hearing in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. He worked his way through school as a nursing assistant at Shands and Alachua General Hospital, a researcher in the UF Pesticide Research lab, medical photographer at Shands and research assistant in the department of neurology at Shands.  In the late 1970s Byron worked at Florida International University where he taught experimental psychology and

was in charge of the psychology laboratories where he introduced the use of computer technology to psychology. Byron took his skills to Northern Virginia in 1980 where he worked as a systems engineer at Hewlett Packard and Lockheed Martin until retirement in 2009.

A true renaissance man, Byron mastered many disciplines including piano, photography, astronomy, sailing, and scuba diving.  His many other interests included geology, fossil digging, back country adventures, short wave radio operation, gardening and was a life-long home renovation do-it-yourselfer.   He is credited by NASA with having one of the best astrophotographs of Hartley’s Comet.  The only Dad on the block who had an oscilloscope in the garage, not a single science fair project (his or his children’s) went un-awarded.  He led a life of curiosity, intellectualism and had a love of science and technology that despite his reserved nature, he successfully passed on to his family and friends.

Byron is survived by his best friend and wife of 45 years, Susan Galbreath Bergert, a son David Justin Bergert, daughter Beverly Bergert Buester and four intellectually curious grandsons.