Enrique A. J. Marcatili, 95, of Red Bank, passed away Jan. 19, 2021. He was born in Villa María, Córdoba, Argentina and immigrated to the United States in 1954. He had a long and happy marriage with his beloved wife Ana from 1953 until her passing in 2008.
Enrique was a renowned Argentine-American physicist, recognized as a pioneer in optical fiber research, who spent his career working at Bell Laboratories in Holmdel until his retirement in the mid ’90s. In 1975, together with Stewart E. Miller and Tingye Li, all of Bell Laboratories, he was a winner of the IEEE’s Baker Prize. He was a member of the National Academy of Engineering and, in 1988, he accepted a chair at Tokyo University endowed by Nippon Electric Corporation, the first event of this kind in Japan. He holds numerous patents, wrote dozens of published articles and, to this day, his theories are being adapted to new applications.
Enrique traveled the world for work and pleasure, delivering keynote speeches at technical conferences and seminars for future scientists. Decades into retirement he continued “working on his numbers,” never ceasing his mathematical explorations.
Enrique could quickly captivate any room with his charisma and love for good conversation. Dressed to the nines, he would be found surrounded by erupting laughter after delivering the punchline of a joke, or with perplexed faces circled closely around, trying to work through one of his puzzles. He had a gift for sparking curiosity and confidence in one’s intellect, effortlessly making an impact on others. He loved skiing (which he enjoyed well into his 80s), opera, and a good game of Scrabble (at which he excelled in multiple languages, to his opponents’ dismay). He also enjoyed fine dining, frequent trips to the movie theater and the company of his many friends.
He is survived by his loving children, Viviana Marcatili-Keir and Enrique R. (Rich) Marcatili, his cherished granddaughters, Devon and Tara Keir and Sandra and Jaclyn Marcatili, and a large extended family in Argentina.
At this time there is no date for a Celebration of Life for Enrique.
Please visit Enrique’s memorial website available at johnedayfuneralhome.com.
The article originally appeared in the February 4 – 10, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
