Our Origins
The Chernowitz Medical Research Foundation is the legacy of George and Edith Chernowitz.
Born in 1917 in New York City, George Chernowitz grew up as a first generation American amidst the millions of other new residents of the burgeoning country. Working his way through Columbia University, he emerged in the 1930’s as a brilliant mathematician, engineer and physicist. In the days when multiple degrees were not necessary to advance in the engineering field, George was hired by the Department of Defense and subsequently by the Curtiss- Wright Company. There, he worked on the engineering and physics of early rocket development and continued the work of Robert Goddard, the father of American Rocketry, then working as a consulting engineer to Curtiss-Wright. He was assigned to the documents of the Germans who were experimenting with rockets to attack Britain in WWII, and later worked with Werner von Braun when he came to the U.S.
Edith, his wife and business partner, was also raised in New York City and graduated with a B.A. degree at a time when women were the exception in the college classroom. She went on to receive a M.A. degree from American University in Public Finance. Professors would start the class with a welcome of “Good morning gentlemen and Mrs. Chernowitz”, acknowledging her atypical presence in a classroom.
In 1947, after the conclusion of WWII, George and Edith started a company to expand on their knowledge and interests. “American Power Jet Company” (APJ) was a force and leader in the development of jet propulsion, working with the US Department of Defense and all of the branches of the military.
Over time, the focus of the business evolved. While they were respected and influential service providers and technology leaders in the space program, they combined their analytical interests into developing statistical and engineering analyses of military weapons systems and related aspects of flight related testing. They were instrumental in improving aircraft de-icing concepts and developed the concept of cargo containerization for the transport of military cargo. Equally important was their work in logistics optimization, working to determine the beginning of “right time” delivery of supplies to the field. During the 1960s, they worked extensively with the Army and other branches of the military to improve helicopter maintenance under combat conditions in Vietnam. Concurrently, they evaluated fire and explosion resistant materials for NASA.
They were pioneers in the development of quality control in scientific and industrial applications. They were actively involved in the professional organizations that developed from quality replication work that has made air travel as safe as it is now.
Work was not a full time commitment. George and Edith were avid bridge players and travelers. George was an equally avid photographer and player of Go, the Japanese board game. Edith dedicated much of her free time to helping her extended family. She maintained close contact with her two brothers and their families. After George passed away in 2001 and their company was dismantled, Edith moved from the New York City area to southern New Jersey to be near her nephew and his family. There she enjoyed many years of life in a social setting unlike the business life that she and George had led.
George and Edith had no children. As they contemplated their legacy, they decided together that they wanted their estate to go to medical research. The Chernowitz Medical Research Foundation is the product of that decision. Led by Edith’s nephew Richard Jacoby M.D., the Foundation is dedicated to “powering medical research” in the same way that George and Edith “powered jet propulsion. “