Robert "Buzz" E. Slye Sr. passed away on August 8, 2026, at the age of 91. He was born November 27, 1934, in Burlington, Vermont, to Albert and Doris (Mansfield) Slye, and grew up in Dalton, Massachusetts.

He received a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Yale University in 1956, where he also served in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. He then earned an M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from Stanford University in 1957. He joined NACA Ames Aeronautical Laboratory in Moffett Field, California, in June 1957 as a summer student, and was then assigned to Air Force duty on the Ames campus in the fall of 1957. In 1958, he became a permanent research scientist at what was then the NASA Ames Research Center. 

Slye's career at Ames spanned more than half a century. He made important research contributions across a wide range of disciplines; including aerodynamics of lifting bodies, such as the space shuttle orbiter, as well as rockets and re-entry capsules; trajectory and payload analysis; and analysis and display of computer information, including remotely sensed images.

He received the NASA Ames Special Achievement Award in 1988. At the time of his retirement in December 2007, he was the longest continuously employed person at Ames.

In his younger years, Buzz enjoyed skiing, hiking, climbing, autocrossing, and traveling. In his later years and into retirement, he enjoyed gardening, reading scientific articles, sharing his knowledge with those close to him, working on projects around the house and yard, playing bridge at the community center, and spending time with his grandchildren. 

Buzz is survived by his wife, Sharron Slye; his children, Laura Haythornthwaite (Mark), Christopher Slye (Christy), Sandra Slye-Hittle (Jeremy), and Robert Slye Jr; his grandchildren, Akayla and Haylee Hittle; his sister-in-law, Gail Ford; and several nieces and nephews.