In Memoriam: Ralph Buscarello
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Ralph Thomas Buscarello was born Sept. 20,1925, in Brooklyn, N.Y., USA. He Graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School. At 17 years of age, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and fought in the Okinawa campaign and served in China. After the war, he attended Denver University where he obtained degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Administration. He married his wife Gloria in 1952.
At Merrill Engineering in Denver, Ralph learned balancing and started his passion for precision maintenance. He moved to Chicago and started Electronic Dynamic Balancing Co. He later became the head of sales for balancing machines at Stewart Warner. In 1966 he started Update Industrial Seminars, which a few years later became Update International Inc. He developed and taught courses on selling capital equipment and on vibration analysis, writing the textbooks from his practical experience. Leaving the sales training to a former partner, he focused on vibration analysis, emphasizing practical techniques.
Over the next 40 years, Ralph taught thousands of people in more than 40 countries, including presenting papers at TAPPI sponsored seminars and events such as the annual, ongoing OpEx Reliability Workshop. He consulted for many companies on vibration problems and developed many methods of vibration analysis, including innovations in phase and resonance analysis. He pioneered principles of practical prevention through precision and collective teamwork. He was known for his style, his humor, and his passion for teaching and ultimately for making a difference in the lives of those he taught.
Ralph stayed active in vibration by speaking and writing until his death on Sept. 5, 2013, at 87 years of age. He is survived by Gloria, his wife of 61 years, his children Gayle, Greg, Steve, Daniel, Valerie, and Kari, as well as by 14 grandchildren.
