Jul 30, 2012No sooner was the ink dry on my article about the death of Gay Whitney (see Honoring the Life of Gay Whitney) than I received an e-mail from Craig K. Harmon, Q.E.D. Systems' president and CEO, informing me that Bert Moore had died of a heart attack.
Moore was the director of technical communications and media relations at AIM, as well as a member of the AIDC 100. He consulted on automatic-identification technologies, but was best known for AIM's monthly AIM Connections and RFID Connections e-newsletters. In addition, he served as a member of AIM's Technical Symbology Committee (TSC) and RFID Experts Group (REG).
Moore's knowledge of auto-ID technologies was both wide and deep. He covered bar codes and RFID, and had the ability to explain the technologies' complexities in a way that others could easily understand. He maintained a healthy skepticism regarding the hype surrounding RFID in 2003 and 2004, and would send me e-mails saying, "Have you seen the latest article on the death of the bar code?"
Paul Chartier, of Praxis Consultants, in the United Kingdom, recalls, "The last time Bert and I were together was when we were speaking at a conference in London, about two years ago. He told me that he was a bit uneasy about the subject matter chosen for him. and hoped the way he addressed the subject would be acceptable. When he went to the podium, what with his natural presence (long hair tied back and smart suit) and his use of language, it would not have mattered if he was talking about bar codes at an RFID conference. He just won the audience over with his gift of communication, as he did at other conferences, and with his clearly written words. It is so sad to see him join the ranks of AIM and AIDC people who have also passed on. Bert had much more to contribute, and he will be missed."
Moore made many friends throughout his years in the industry, and offered many contributions, large and small. I will miss seeing him at events, and I know that many others feel his loss even more acutely. I wish we could put up a plaque for him somewhere in an Auto-ID Hall of Fame.
No service for Moore was held. His family has requested that donations be made to the American Cancer Society or the American Red Cross.
Mark Roberti is the founder and editor of RFID Journal. If you would like to comment on this article, click on the link below. To read more of Mark's opinions, visit the RFID Journal Blog, the Editor's Note archive or RFID Connect.
