At Berman Hebrew Academy, we are committed to creating STEM educational spaces that allow our students to explore, discover, and create. To that end, we have shared our goal to develop innovation labs for our Upper, Middle, and Lower School divisions. Recently, we shared our plans to open the Dr. Aaron Chasan ז״ל Innovation Lab in our Upper School next fall. Today, we are thrilled to share that plans are also underway to open the Howard Reiter ז״ל Lower School Innovation Lab next year. We are incredibly grateful to Debra Reiter Panitch who, together with her children Nadiv ’16, Lili ’19 and Dahlia ’21, has made a generous gift to create this space in memory of her brother. The Panitch family hopes that in honoring Howard’s memory through the establishment of the Lower School lab, that a spark will be lit in many young Berman students to follow in his footsteps, fueling their curiosity of how things work and developing a love of, and an appreciation for, science and engineering. Please read more about Howard Reiter ז״ל and his love for innovation at the end of this email.
The space will provide diversity and a cross-pollination of activities, allowing our students to explore various subject matters (both general and Judaic). Some features of this space will include woodworking supplies, 3D printers, circuitry learning tools, a wearable technology area, a robotics suite and more, allowing various opportunities for our students to create and personalize their learning.
We are incredibly grateful to the Panitch family for sharing our vision to provide a 21st century STEM education for our students. If you would like to help support our vision to create an innovation lab for our Middle School, please contact Shmarya Gasner for sponsorship opportunities.
About Howard Reiter ז״ל
Howard Reiter ז״ל was always an enthusiastic “tinkerer”. Even from an early age, he was constantly seen building and fixing things, including his younger sister Debra’s EZ-Bake Oven and his Ham Radio where he loved connecting in morse code with people across the globe. Howard was a graduate of Princeton University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with degrees in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Professionally, Howard was an inventor of a multitude of United States and Foreign Patents, President of Rome Fastener Corporation, and the victor in the 9-0 United States Supreme Court landmark decision Romag v. Fossil. Howard was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Federation of North America, Katz Center for Judaic Studies, Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven, Anti-Defamation League – Connecticut Region, and the Jewish Cemetery Association of Greater New Haven, was an Honorary Trustee of the Center for Jewish Life at Princeton University, and was a regular Torah reader at Congregation B’nai Jacob. Howard had a unique enthusiasm for life and led an extremely active lifestyle, often combining his love of swimming, cycling and skiing with various charitable events. Howard was a pillar of his communities, and he used his limitless energy, strong sense of compassion, and his resources to create meaningful jobs and support the institutions that helped shape his own sense of self. Howard always gave his all and blessed his family and friends with his radiant energy, his warm smile, and the signature twinkle in his eye.
