In memoriam: Rob Rosen
March 2026
In March of 2026, we lost our colleague and dear friend, Rob Rosen. Rob was hired at Taitem in 1998. He had just completed a degree in computer programming after a successful career as an independent general contractor, and responded to a job posting at Taitem for a programmer. We had just been awarded a project by NYSERDA to develop residential energy audit software. This was the TREAT software, which is still in use over 25 years later. Rob was our first programmer on the project. He subsequently moved into an engineering role on the TREAT program, working as the main technical support person. In 2005, TREAT won the national R&D 100 Award, representing one of the best 100 new products of any kind in the country, as awarded by R&D Magazine.
When we decided to move on from software, Rob stayed with us and became an energy auditor. We soon learned the depth of his general contracting knowledge and how helpful that was not only for his own energy audits, but for all of ours. Everyone in the office turned to Rob to ask about construction details, insulation, air sealing, and to explain things they found in basements, attics, and everywhere in buildings. He was the person to go to if you wondered what the current utility costs were. He remained our go-to person for the past two decades.
Rob’s knowledge of buildings, and his work efficiency in buildings, were both legend. Nate tells one of his standout memories: "I will always remember sharing an office with Rob when I first started working at Taitem. It was my first real job out of college and those first days and months were formative in my growth as an engineer, professional, and (most importantly) someone that cares about the work they are doing, and the people they are helping with that work. I can still remember Rob showing me an energy audit he was working on, and blithely entering in a series of very specific lighting fixture selections from an obscure (to me) list of numbers in his field notes. I asked him what the notes meant and he explained they were quantities of light fixtures he had counted in the field. I then asked him how he knew what type each of the lights were and he looked blank for a moment and then said - well they were clearly 2-bulb T-8 fluorescent fixtures, so I just remember that of course! That single incident brought home to me just how adept and natural Rob was at his work. It’s about 20 years later and I can now (usually) recognize a T-8 fixture at a glance, and sometimes skip detailed notes knowing I can rely on photos to remind myself what lights were in which area, but I doubt I will ever be able to conduct myself with the same level of effortless competency that Rob managed to pull off on a regular basis."
We also learned that Rob was well known in Ithaca from his days as a contractor. Which meant that he knew Ithaca buildings backwards, from downtown homes to Cornell sororities and fraternities. Tim reported that, “For an energy audit at Alpha Delta Phi, Rob convinced a house resident that he also needed to look inside the mysterious star-shaped windowless and door-less building adjacent to the frat house. I think he was the only person at Taitem who went inside that building and knew the location of the entrance.” Fred knew Rob back in his contractor days. “When I first met Rob he was a builder, I was a plumber, and he was known as Robin Summers. I recall that the name change was related to his interest in his Jewish heritage. I remember well our time in the attic level of 108 S. Albany, enduring inconsistent heat and window AC. I also remember his appreciation for my odd sense of humor.”
And Rob’s work as a contractor stretched back to a time in New York City, at the same time that Jim was there. “Rob and I had more in common than just energy audits and energy manager projects. One day, Rob and I were talking about the time we spent in NYC when we were younger. We were both doing contracting work in the East Village area of NYC at the same time. We talked about where we lived, where we worked, and the bars and clubs we went to. We shared that our favorite after-after-hours club was called Save the Robots. I can’t picture him there, but I wish I had met him back then.”
Over the years, Rob continued to surprise us in many different ways. He continued to learn and to grow, obtaining accreditations as a Certified Energy Manager (Association of Energy Engineers), Building Energy Modeling Professional (ASHRAE), Certified Home Energy Rater (RESNET), and two ENERGY STAR (EPA) accreditations.
In 2021, he was elected to the Town of Ithaca Board. He also served on the Town of Ithaca Zoning Board of Appeals. And his general knowledge beyond the energy field, building, and municipal politics was encyclopedic. We learned that he had come to Ithaca to study at Cornell for an undergraduate degree in Russian and Soviet Studies, prior to his subsequent degree in Computer Science.
Rob was the first Taitem engineer to work as an On-Site Energy Manager, doing so for Corning Incorporated, making the commute from Ithaca several days a week. After a one-year assignment, it was so successful that he was asked back for a second year. During his last year, Rob was engaged as an On-site Energy Manager for Cayuga Medical Center and Schuyler Hospital.
Through it all, with his busy work life, Rob was a great dad. Courtney related that, “I shared an office with Rob (and Crista) for several years, and in that time we had many conversations that I can remember. He would tell us stories about his trips to China—what they ate, the places they visited, the traditions. We’d also talk about his relationship with Liz’s mom, and Cindy, and why he and Cindy chose to live separately and hold off getting married until after the kids went to college. This was also during the same time he was raising a teenage daughter as a single dad. Rob would talk about the challenges with a laugh and always made sure to say how amazing she was and how proud he was of Liz. But one of my favorite memories during a conversation about high schooler relationships, Rob said “yes Courtney, high schoolers are having coed sleepovers!” It was at that moment I realized how balanced and grounded he was as a parent—realistic, open-minded, and calm about things that might rattle other people.”
In recent years, Rob became a mentor for our younger staff, always patient, always thoughtful, always a critical thinker. Rob came to Taitem as a programmer and left us as something far harder to define — a builder, an engineer, an auditor, a mentor, a town official, and a friend. He never sought the spotlight, yet his fingerprints are on nearly everything Taitem has done over the past 27 years: in the lines of code still running in TREAT, in the buildings for which he recommended improvements, in the younger colleagues he quietly shaped, and in the standards he set by doing his work with uncommon care and competence. We are better for having known him.
We will miss you, Rob.
