When Martin Afromowitz ’62 took the SHSAT, he left the testing facility with a sinking feeling. He had skipped one question early in the exam but forgot to leave it blank on his bubble sheet. In the last remaining seconds, he realized that almost all of his responses were one question off.
“I went home very depressed, but I decided I was going to write a letter to Bronx Science,” he remembered. He paused, laughing, then imitated his teenage self: “Could you please go back and adjust all my answers and switch them by one, starting at question 13? I would be very grateful.”
Amazingly, the school reviewed his answer sheet again, and Marty was accepted. This second chance was only the first of many opportunities that Bronx Science would provide him. Now, Marty is giving back to the school with a generous $200,000 donation.
“Bronx Science shaped my career in so many different ways,” said Marty when asked about his decision to donate. “The work that I did as an educator and researcher and the pleasure that I got from it was so strongly attributed to what I learned at Bronx Science that I felt I had to give back to the school.”
From a young age, math and science fascinated Marty. He grew up deconstructing radios, watches, and other broken pieces of household technology. As an eighth grader, he self-discovered integral calculus while pondering how to determine the volume of a glass. He imagined the irregularly-shaped object as a stack of infinitely thin disks, of which he could calculate and add together the individual volumes.
Marty described Bronx Science – with its rigorous curriculum and advanced STEM classes – as “the answer to my dreams.” He was immersed in a supportive community of “fantastic teachers” and “terrific friends,” some of whom he still stays in touch with through monthly Zoom meetings. Marty became especially close with Dr. Abraham Baumel, a physics teacher whose office hours felt like a second home.
“His door was always open. And we sat around and just BS’d about physics,” Marty remembered. “He just enjoyed interacting with us. Dr. Baumel was the first one that I asked to sign my yearbook.”
After high school, Marty attended Columbia University, earning his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD in electrical engineering. Then he worked for Bell Labs in New Jersey, where he had his own laboratory, lab assistant, and high-quality equipment. Marty’s work was significant in developing the light emitting diodes, or LEDs, that have become commonplace today. “It’s been a marvelous explosion of technology… and I’m very excited that what I was involved in early on in my career has become so useful to mankind.”
In 1974, antitrust investigations began to threaten the Bell System, and Marty moved to the University of Washington to conduct research in bioengineering. Eventually, he became a full-time professor at the university. “I can’t explain or express how great it is to be a professor,” Marty said. “You’re interacting with young, really smart people. They’re eager to soak up all the knowledge you can give them.” Like Dr. Baumel, Marty delighted in talking with students after class and explaining scientific concepts.
Later in life, Marty also served as an expert witness in patent litigation, evaluating the validity of patents and using his expertise to testify in court. In 2015, he concluded his 41-year-long teaching career and retired from the University of Washington.
Over sixty years have elapsed since Marty was a student at Bronx Science. However, he identifies as a proud member of the Bronx Science community and returned for his 25th and 40th class reunions. He still treasures his senior yearbook, which he flipped through as we spoke.
Pausing on the first page of the inside cover, his eyes teared up as he read aloud the note from Dr. Abraham Baumel:
It is difficult to thank you for all the things you have done for me. But above all, your good humor, your superb work, your wonderful character, all will remain with me as an echo of a most wonderful year. Best wishes for future success – you will succeed most admirably.
Marty shared his amazement that Dr. Baumel – a mentor he felt so indebted to – was the one saying ‘thank you.’ It was the school and teachers who deserved the utmost thanks, Marty thought, for their dedication and profound influence on his life. His $200,000 donation is an expression of this gratitude and an assurance that Bronx Science will continue to be a transformative place for all current and future students.
The school plans to use these funds to support students living under the poverty line and provide computers, books, and other resources. Marty hopes that students benefiting from this today will be inspired to similarly donate at the end of their careers, if they have the resources to do so. “I’m just thrilled that I can give back,” Marty reiterated, smiling. “It would be nice if these students continue the tradition.”
It was the school and teachers who deserved the utmost thanks, Marty thought, for their dedication and profound influence on his life. His $200,000 donation is an expression of this gratitude and an assurance that Bronx Science will continue to be a transformative place for all current and future students.