Brian G. Palestis, Ph.D. of Union, N.J., passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020. Born in Somerville, N.J., on Oct. 6, 1973, Brian was raised in Pompton Lakes, where he was valedictorian of Pompton Lakes High School Class of 1991. While there, Brian was an Eagle Scout who played the cello in the orchestra, and electric bass in the jazz band. He played football his first 3 years before focusing on fencing. As a fencer, he competed in the Garden State Games and Junior Olympics, and as a member of the Junior National Team. He also represented Passaic County in Boys State.
Brian went on to attend Princeton University, where he was a member of the Colonial Club. His senior thesis on “Multimare Harems in Feral Horses” placed Brian on the Outer Banks off the coast of North Carolina in 1994 doing fieldwork. During his time at Princeton, Brian was a starter in fencing all 4 years, a two-time Honorable Mention All American, Academic All-Ivy, and sabre squad leader in 1995. The team won Ivy League Titles in 1994 and 1995, and finished fourth at the 1994 NCAA Championship. Brian was selected by competitors and coaches as the recipient of the Cointe Award, in recognition of his outstanding sportsmanship at the IFA Championship. Brian graduated from Princeton magna cum laude with a degree in ecology and evolutionary biology.
It was at Princeton where Brian met Meghan Sullivan in his senior year. They married in August 1997 in Meghan’s hometown of Framingham, Mass., and honeymooned in Hawaii, the first of many trips the two would take over the years to destinations including Spain, France, Ireland, Alaska, Greece and the Caribbean.
Brian earned a Ph.D. in ecology and evolution from Rutgers University in 2000, with a dissertation on “Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) Recognition Systems: Recognition of Siblings, Nest Sites and Nest Predators.” He did fieldwork for this dissertation at Barnegat Bay, N.J.
After post-doctoral positions at Barnard College and Monmouth University, Brian joined the Wagner College Department of Biological Sciences faculty in 2001. He was granted tenure in 2006 and promoted to full professor in 2012.
His classes included “Biodiversity & Ecology,” “Biostatistics & Environmental Design” and “Natural History of the Mid-Atlantic States.” He continued his research on common terns, conducting fieldwork every summer along the New Jersey shore, often involving his students in his research.
Brian served as department chairman for three terms, chaired the college’s Academic Policy Committee for many years, and served on numerous other committees.
He was well known for his commitment to research. He published his own work while also collaborating with other researchers and serving as a peer reviewer for scientific journals. His articles appeared in publications including Animal Behavior, Waterbirds, Seabird, and Evolutionary Psychological Science.
For more than two decades, Brian was an active member of the Waterbird Society, an organization devoted to the scientific study and conservation of the world’s waterbirds. He presented at annual meetings in the U.S. and abroad, including Canada, Iceland, Germany and Mexico, and served as publications co-chairman.
Brian has been affiliated with Master’s Fencing Academy since high school, and continued giving lessons until recently. He was volunteer assistant coach for the Wagner College Fencing Team since its inception in 2016. He was a USA Fencing and NJSIAA licensed referee, refereeing meets and tournaments around New Jersey.
Brian was a devoted father to Connor and Caitlin; he enjoyed attending their games and performances. Brian loved hiking and the beach, and spent many family vacations in Maine and the Jersey Shore. In addition to his wife Meghan, and their children, Connor and Caitlin, Brian is survived by his parents, Elizabeth Kattak, and Ernest Palestis and his wife Monica; his brother Paul Palestis and wife Alexandra; mother-in-law Maryelaine Sullivan; sister-in-law Katherine Fanous and her husband Brian; nieces Daniela Palestis and Sonia K. Fanous, and nephew John Fanous; aunt Christine Palestis and uncle Gregory Palestis. Brian was predeceased by his father-in-law, John E. Sullivan, and his stepfather, Victor Kattak.
